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Voters applaud EC
Political parties may carp and whine but India's autonomous Election Commission has won a collective pat on the back from voters even as it conducts the mammoth staggered national election.
Political parties may carp and whine but India's autonomous Election Commission has won a collective pat on the back from voters even as it conducts the mammoth staggered national election.
In a nationwide survey of urban and suburban voters commissioned by the daily Times of India, 79 percent respondents thought of the Election Commission as an "efficient office" that had been ensuring free and fair elections.
The survey, conducted by TNS India in two phases in 16 states, found that approval for the poll panel was highest in western regions but dipped in the violence-prone eastern states.
The TOI-TNS survey also found that compared to a month ago, fewer voters today feel Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's coalition had performed "good". More people now rate the government's performance as "average", the survey found.
Also, fewer people now think the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is the best party to deliver basic amenities like drinking water and creating more jobs. The Congress, which ranks a poor second, had improved its ratings marginally.
More and more voters feel that the elections are fair now than a month ago. While in mid-March, 44 percent voters in large and small metropolitan centres said elections were fair, 10 percent more think so today.
After the five-phase balloting got under way on April 20, voters were more relaxed and confident about the process and there were fewer people sceptical about the waste of money or violence in elections.