JPF survey: Punekars believe strong Opposition key for democracy

The survey was carried out online to gauge awareness, beliefs and behaviours of Punekars. The JPF team complemented the public survey methodology with insights from the ‘wisdom of crowds’ theory from cognitive science to develop the KAPW survey

A survey titled ‘Politics, Punekars and Perceptions’ conducted by the Jnana Prabodhini Foundation (JPF) has thrown up interesting findings on voter engagement, systems of government, misinformation and fake news, political values and the overall economic situation.

Survey titled ‘Politics, Punekars and Perceptions’ conducted by the Jnana Prabodhini Foundation (JPF). (REPRESENTATIVE PHOTO)

Abhishek Dedhe, programme director, JPF Analytics, said, “About half of the world’s adult population is eligible to vote in 2024, with more than 60 countries holding national elections. As the world’s largest democracy and most populous country, India occupies a unique spot at this historic moment. Amidst economic turbulence, technological upheaval, geopolitical instability and climate challenges, over 64 crore Indians voted in the national Lok Sabha (LS) election held in the summer of 2024.

“These included millions of Punekars – residents of India’s seventh-largest city, Pune – who joined their fellow citizens in exercising their right to vote Our team at JPF sought to understand the beliefs and behaviours of Punekars about democracy, elections and politics.”

“We carried out an online Knowledge, Attitudes, Practices and Wisdom (KAPW) survey to gauge the perceptions of Punekars (methodology and demographics). We asked Punekars their opinions about the expected outcomes of the election, key political issues, and attitudes towards democratic values Specifically, we looked at the individuals’ views on voting and whether they sought reforms in the current electoral system of voting in Pune. We prodded Punekars about their participation in national- and state-level elections, their support for various systems of government, and their attitudes about preferred and non-preferred political parties,” Dedhe said.

“To understand the processes influencing electoral preferences, we measured Punekars’ trust in political and media institutions, opinions about the long-pending national census, and perceptions regarding the condition of India’s democracy. Finally, we explored key economic and technological challenges facing Pune.

Through this survey, we continue to advance JPF Analytics’ mission of using data analysis for social good by promoting data cultures, strengthening research infrastructures, and deepening democratic values,” Dedhe said further.

The survey was carried out online to gauge awareness, beliefs and behaviours of Punekars. The JPF team complemented the public survey methodology with insights from the ‘wisdom of crowds’ theory from cognitive science to develop the KAPW survey.

The JPF received ethics approval for conducting this survey from Carnegie Mellon University’s Office of Research Integrity and Compliance. The survey involved answering 86 questions with respondents allowed to take the survey in either English or Marathi. It employed a sample-of-convenience snowball-sampling method.