Click to play videoNew Delhi: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is regarded as an honest man but a significant number of people would like him replaced with Congress President Sonia Gandhi. This is the finding of a CNN-IBN-The Indian Express opinion poll conducted across 18 states.
Despite terrorism, inflation and the quota controversy, the Prime Minister still enjoys great respect and is regarded as a wise and honest leader. The irony is that people believe Sonia would do better.
As many as 56 per cent of the people interviewed by the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies (CSDS) for the opinion poll felt that the Prime Minister has performed satisfactorily over the last two years. What is surprising is the fact that one out of every two voters, who supported the NDA in 2004, has given his or her approval for the Prime Minister.
Manmohan has pulled off a first division in the survey. He scores for his honesty and wisdom but opinion is divided on whether he's a strong leader or not. Only one in every three persons thinks that his policies are pro-poor - a shocking finding for the UPA Government that fought the elections on the aam admi’s vote.
The Prime Minister’s report card has four prominent red marks: the reservation issue, where only 28 per cent respondents were with him. On farmer suicides and terrorism only 22 per cent said the Prime Minister was doing well. Most respondents thought he had failed to deliver on inflation.
Less then 10 per cent respondents said the Prime Minister took independent decisions. Majority of the people were not sure who called the shots in the Government and 40 per cent were of the opinion that Sonia Gandhi was the real decision maker.
Almost half of the respondents couldn’t decide whether Sonia's role was positive or not. There were twice as many people who thought that Sonia should intervene in the Government’s functioning and even lesser number felt she shouldn't intrevene.
That may explain why 52 per cent of the people felt that Sonia should replace Manmohan Singh. This figure is even higher among Congressmen, but when asked if Manmohan Singh should be replaced with Rahul Gandhi, only 31 per cent said yes. When asked if Manmohan should be replaced with any other leader, respondents firmly said no.
In May 2004, Sonia shocked the Congress when she declined to take up the prime minister's post after winning the general elections. Instead, Manmohan Singh, the architect of India's economic reforms, was selected to lead the Government.
Next Page: Survey results
Who calls the shots? | |
Manmohan on his own | 8% |
Sonia takes big decision | 24% |
Sonia takes all decisions | 22% |
Can’t say | 47% |
How satisfied are you with PM’s performance? | |||
| All | UPA Voters | NDA Voters | |
Satisfied | 56% | 63% | 49% |
Dissatisfied | 18% | 10% | 28% |
No Opinion | 26% | 27% | 23% |
Manmohan’s Mark Sheet | |
| Max marks: 100 | |
All | 68 |
Congress Voters | 74 |
Left Voters | 73 |
BJP voters | 56 |
The PM is… | ||
| Agree | Disagree | |
Honest | 64% | 8% |
Wise | 61% | 7% |
Strong leader | 33% | 33% |
| Pro-poor | 34% | 37% |
The success of PM’s policies | ||
| Successful | Failure | |
Reservations | 28% | 24% |
Farmers’ Suicide | 22% | 38% |
Terrorism | 22% | 39% |
| Price Rise | 17% | 56% |
Should Manmohan be replaced by Rahul? | ||
| All | Congress voters | |
Yes | 31% | 40% |
No | 41% | 31% |
Cant say | 29% | 29 % |
Should the PM be replaced by someone else from Congress? | ||
| All | Congress voters | |
Yes | 22% | 22% |
No | 40% | 41% |
Cant say | 38% | 38% |
Should Manmohan be replaced by Sonia? | ||
| All | Congress voters | |
Yes | 52% | 66% |
No | 30% | 19% |
Cant say | 18% | 15% |
Sample profile | |
States covered | 18 |
Respondents | 1,884 |
Women | 46% |
Rural | 65% |
Opinion on Sonia’s role | |
| All | |
Nothing wrong with it | 36% |
PM should not take her directions | 18% |
Cant say | 47% |
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