Despite maintaining an overall supremacy in the run-up to the July 8 panchayat elections in West Bengal, the ABP-CVoter Opinion Poll for the rural civic body polls has indicated some major factors of discomfort for the state’s ruling party that might keep its leadership worried for the big battle of 2024.
As many as 49 per cent of the respondents have claimed that they are unhappy with the functioning of the Zilla Parishads, the highest tier of the three-tier panchayat system, and hence they want a change in the power constitution there, while 28 per cent said that despite being unhappy with the performance, they do not want a change right now.
While 16 per cent of the respondents said that they are happy with the functioning of the Zilla Parishads, only 7 per cent claimed ignorance in the matter.
The opinion poll also indicates possible erosion in the dedicated minority vote bank of the Trinamool Congress. While 59 per cent of the respondents have claimed that the possibility of erosion in the ruling party’s minority votes is high, 28 per cent have ruled out that possibility. Thirteen per cent have claimed ignorance in the matter.
As per the survey, 25 per cent of the respondents feel that the issue of corruption will be the factor for the rural civic body polls, while 21 per cent feel that rising unemployment will be the most important issue. While 40 per cent feel other factors like law and order and civic issues, among others, will be the major factor, 13 per cent of the respondents have claimed ignorance.
On the overall performance of the Trinamool Congress-led government, 40 per cent of the respondents have termed it as bad, 35 per cent have described it as good while 16 per cent have marked it as average. Only 9 per cent have claimed ignorance in the matter.
Finally, while 59 per cent of the respondents feel that pre-poll violence, especially during the nomination phase, has tarnished the image of Trinamool Congress, 28 per cent feel otherwise.
