51% back performance of govt | 60% feel promises have been somewhat or not kept
| Highest number blame BJP govt for shutting down mining | Lower income groups
reject Parrikar on several parametersTeam Goan If Manohar Parrikar woke up
this morning to be told that 57% Goan voters would still vote for the BJP if
elections are held today, he would afford to look smug, with the ‘I told you so
look’ that he sports. Because that is the percentage of people polled in the
first ever Mood of Goa survey, commissioned by The Goan to Nielsen, one of the
world’s foremost information measurement companies.But the people of Goa have
also sent out clear messages. They aren’t sure he will deliver on promises.
Over 60% feel that he has “somewhat” or not kept promises and they blame him
more than anyone else for shutting down the mines in Goa.Interestingly, of the
sample of voters who claimed to have voted for the BJP in the last elections,
there is a 12% vote shift to other parties including the congress. However a
greater shift of votes away from the Congress restores this equation, at least
on paper. But there is the print and the fine print. And The Goan-Nielsen Mood
of Goa Survey is as much about the fine print as the most obvious findings.Our
message to the Chief Minister“Sir, ignore the fine prints at your own peril”.So
here are the big findings and the even bigger fine print message in those
findings.PERFORMANCE:BIG FINDING: -51% of those surveyed rated the current BJP
government as “good” or “very good”FINE PRINT: The same people were asked to
rate the previous Congress performance and 46% rated the Congress as “good” or
very good, a difference of just 5%
TIME TO GOVERNMENTBIG FINDING: Time to Parrikar government - 43% were willing
to give this government three to five years time to make changes and
deliverFINE PRINT: 16% wanted a change right now
QUALITY OF LIFEBIG FINDING: 31% felt that the quality of life under Parrikar
had improvedFINE PRINT: 68% felt that there was no change Nielsen spent close
to fortnight in ten chosen constituencies of Goa to bring back findings, that
we sensed all along and yet even more. If the Chief Minister displays some
pragmatism he will go beyond the big ticket picture, because the big surprises
are there in the fi ne print and these surprises are eye openers. Brace for
them:South Goa is still Parrikar’s shining star, but the North is silently at
war. Massive negative signals from North Goa and not South Goa: Yes, that’s
right. Parrikar has performed poorly in his traditional backyard North Goa
across parameters. In North Goa, 36% felt the performance of the government was
good as opposed to 54 % in the South, a huge 18% difference. In North Goa, a
mere 9% were “extremely satisfied” with the performance of the government in
curbing corruption. In the South 27% were extremely satisfied. In North Goa,
the present voting inclination for the BJP is 51%. In South Goa it is 63%.HIGH
HOPES FROM THE HIGH INCOMESThe Mood of Goa survey also extended across
different income groups as it did across the two regions. The rating across the
three most significant parameters – Time to government, promise fulfillment and
performance, the CDE or middle to lowest income group categories, have sent out
the strongest signals of disillusionment, as opposed to the highest and high
income category A and B.Here’s a snapshot: 22 % in CDE categories want a change
in government now, while only 13% in both A and B categories do so. 22% in CDE
categories say that the government will not be able to deliver on promises
while 14% in Category A and 18% in Category B feel so.Just 37% in CDE
categories feel that he performance of the Parrikar government has been
satisfactory, while 55% in Category A and 44% in category B feel so. But this
was survey beyond just politics. It was a people’s survey and it mapped
people’s irk levels and this is where the core of the real feelings of Goans
came through. The issues on which Goans were irked the maximum were as follows:
No Garbage management, prostitution of minors, increasing public debt, no
promotion or preservation of heritage and Illegal land acquisition among
others. Shockingly out of 25 such issues picked, the level of satisfaction did
not go beyond 30% in a single case, with no garbage management being the lowest
at 8%.So when our Chief Minister looks at the 57% thumbs up to him and his
government during breakfast on Saturday or when he reads The Goan, he needs to
read the fine print. The glitter is not gold. And let this story be told.
