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According to the survey, corruption is a trait voters hate the most. This is followed by criminal tendencies, with communalism coming in third
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The surgical strikes across the Line of Control gave Union Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar a huge boost, but in tiny Goa it is Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar who appears to be going from strength to strength.
In the first Mood of the State Survey conducted in August, Parrikar emerged as the first choice for chief minister. However, a survey conducted between 10 and 17 October by The Goan Everyday, Goan Varta and Prudent Media has, for the first time, pushed Parsekar ahead of his mentor.
In August around 11.71 percent of the voters showed their preference for Parrikar as chief minister, with Parsekar coming a close second with a score of 9.9 per cent.
In October it was Parsekar who emerged as the clear leader with 11.76 per cent of the voters rooting for him. Parrikar came second with 6.29 per cent.
The writing on the wall is clear, voters now believe that Parrikar is best suited for the job of Defence Minister. Also, the two-year term of Parsekar has also indicated that the state can be run by a leader other than Parrikar.
The shift from August to October also indicates a leadership crisis in the opposition with all known leaders “ Pratapsingh Rane, Digamber Kamat, Vishwajeet Rane and Vijai Sardessai making it to the list but with poor scores. It seems that in August there was some hope of a leader emerging in the opposition, but it was dashed to the ground in October.
Another clear indication from the survey is that voters have started giving issues deeper thought. While development continues to occupy the top position, its weightage has reduced. Similarly, unemployment is the second biggest concern with the electorate followed by garbage, all with reduced weightage.
Issues that appear to be emerging from the background are casinos which has gone from 4.44 to 5.6 per cent. Mega projects received 3 percentage points as against 0.57 in August, whereas the regional plan has moved to 1.9 from 0.42 per cent in August.
While inflation continues to occupy the fourth position its weightage has dropped from 15.04 per cent to 12.5.
The medium of instruction, which is the single issue on which the BBSM hopes to derail the BJP applecart, is still seen as a very minor one even though it has gained some traction, moving from 1.19 per cent in August to 2.7 in October.
As Goa inches towards elections, social schemes which are similar to doles have become important. In August only 38 per cent of the people said money granted by the government through schemes would influence them at the time of voting. Now, around 50 per cent said social schemes would be an important factor in the 2017 polls.
To a question on what are the worst characteristics in a candidate the electorate unequivocally stated that corruption was a trait they hate the most. This was followed by criminal tendencies, with communalism coming in third. About 19.8 per cent said they would reject low performers.
However, a comparison between the survey in August and now shows a shift from the ideal to the pragmatic. While corruption is still considered the worst characteristic, it weightage has come done from 46 per cent in August to 35 per cent. The case with criminal tendencies is also the same.
On the contrary, communalism has gained 10 percentage points, whereas performance gained nine points, an indication that voters are becoming more realistic.
