Economic hurdles

ECONOMIC issues such as unemployment, high inflation and falling income levels played a key role in determining voters’ choices in the Lok Sabha elections, according to a post-poll survey conducted by the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies (CSDS) and Lokniti. These factors proved crucial as the ruling BJP fell short of securing a majority. At least 30 per cent of the respondents who voted in the General Election said they were worried about inflation, whereas the corresponding figure was 20 per cent in the pre-poll survey. Unemployment was the main worry for 32 per cent of the respondents in the pre-poll survey; this dropped to 27 per cent after the elections, possibly due to the employment-related promises made by various political parties.

What clicked with a significant section of the voters was PM Modi’s leadership and the BJP-led government’s efforts towards developing the country, besides its governance and welfare schemes. Ironically, the construction of the Ram Mandir was the ‘most liked work’ of the government, as per the survey, even though the BJP lost the Faizabad seat in Ayodhya district and performed well below the expectations in Uttar Pradesh.

Even as coalition pulls and pressures are set to test Modi’s mettle during his third term, the BJP needs to realise that the PM’s aura is no longer what it was a decade or even five years ago. The party can’t always rely heavily on his mass appeal to win elections. It will have to walk the talk on generating employment opportunities and taming inflation. Making India a developed country (Viksit Bharat) by 2047 is too distant a goal. The country’s young citizens, in particular, can’t wait too long for the fulfilment of guarantees of high-quality education, world-class sports facilities and lucrative employment and entrepreneurial avenues.