World’s biggest election kicks off as India votes

As millions of Indians head to polling booths, what is on their minds?

A pre-poll survey conducted by think-tank CSDS-Lokniti found that unemployment, price rise and development topped the list of voters’ concerns. It said that 27% of respondents considered unemployment to be the most important issue for them – a huge increase from 11% in a similar survey before the 2019 election.

The percentage of respondents concerned about inflation also rose by 19% compared with 2019.

Only 8% of respondents voluntarily raised corruption and a grand new Hindu temple as important concerns.

The temple to the Hindu god Ram, inaugurated by Mr Modi in January, was a longstanding poll promise of his party. It was built on the site of a 16th-Century mosque torn down by Hindu mobs in 1992, sparking deadly riots in the country.

In the survey, more than 22% of the respondents said the temple topped their list of the action they “liked most” from the current government while nearly half said the temple’s construction
would help consolidate Hindu identity.