Price hike is top of mind

The fact that tur dal now costs Rs 100 per kg will be uppermost on voters’ minds when they file into polling booths on October 13.

The fact that tur dal now costs Rs 100 per kg will be uppermost on voters’ minds when they file into polling booths on October 13.

HT Image

In a pre-poll survey conducted by Hindustan Times across Mumbai’s 36 Assembly constituencies, 56 per cent of respondents rated inflation as the most important issue this the election.

“Mumbai has a largely middle-class population,” said political analyst B Venkatesh Kumar. “The rising prices will be an important deciding factor for them.”

Terror preparedness is also a huge issue, with the four-day siege last November still fresh in many minds. Security emerged as the second most important issue in the survey, with 22 per cent of respondents saying it was their main concern.

Twelve per cent said infrastructure was their bugbear, while the power tariff hike will influence the election-day choices of 10 per cent of respondents, the survey found.

Sixty per cent of respondents also said they wanted their legislators to be below the age of 45, indicating a desire for more fresh ideas and innovation.