Fifty-seven per cent of the respondents interviewed said they were satisfied with the ruling party, a substantial number 34 per cent did not have an opinion, while 10 per cent were vocal and expressed dis-satisfaction.

 

The research conducted by Market Xcel, a market research agency in India, included people interviewed across 28 districts of the state.

 

By selecting three-four blocks in each district and interviewing four-five people in each block, the aim of the research was to get a comprehensive representation of the state as a whole. The state consists of 534 administrative blocks spread across 38 districts.

 

Nearly 45 per cent of the respondents interviewed said caste politics is still significant in the poll battle and can very well be the deciding factor.

 

Interestingly, infrastructure and development lags behind, when it comes to factors that shall decide the vote.

 

Healthcare and education are seen as major local issues in the state. More than 55 per cent of the respondents interviewed were fighting with health and education related issues.

 

While most of the respondents said they were satisfied with road infrastructure, 44 per cent of the respondents still think that modernization and development parameters are lagging behind. The overall development matrix of the state is yet to gain the momentum needed.

 

Development with respect to road infrastructure and water facilities has been quite significant, however, the condition with respect to cleanliness/sanitation, health, education and environment still remains the same as that of 5 years ago. Many of the respondents said that the condition of education even declined over the last 5 years.

 

Twenty-eight per cent of the respondents expressed dissatisfaction with their local MLA; nearly 5 out of 10 respondents were satisfied with their local MLA while 25 per cent remained neutral.

 

The field work for the research was conducted during the 2nd and early 3rd week of October, 2020, with 80 per cent of the people interviewed were males while 20 per cent of the respondents were females, with an average age of 38 years.

 

The election will be held in three phases for a total of 243 seats. The first phase for 71 seats on October 28, the second for 94 seats on November 3 and the third phase for the remaining 78 will be on November 7.