55% Indians favour postponing polls over Covid fears, up from 31% a fortnight ago, survey shows

Conducted by LocalCircles, the survey says that of those who seek a delay, 30% support a 1-2 month-long postponement while 25% prefer a postponement of up to 4 months.

(Representational Image) of women standing in a queue to cast their vote at a polling station | PTI

New Delhi: Amid the rise in Covid-19 cases nationwide, 55 per cent citizens are in favour of postponing the upcoming assembly elections in five states, up from 31 per cent around a fortnight ago, a new survey revealed Tuesday.

Conducted by community platform LocalCircles, the survey said that of those who seek a delay, 30 per cent support a one-two month-long postponement while 25 per cent prefer a postponement of up to four months.

The survey comes as a follow-up to another survey on 9 January, which was held after the Election Commission’s decision on 8 January to ban political parties from holding rallies and roadshows in the poll-bound states of Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Manipur and Goa, the company said.

“Post-release of the election schedule by the Election Commission, many citizens shared their views and concerns on LocalCircles and when the platform conducted a survey on Jan 9th about what should be done, 31% of citizens were in favour of postponing these state elections altogether,” LocalCircles said, adding that the follow-up survey came in a bid to gauge shifts in public opinion.

The survey received 10,310 responses from people across 292 districts nationwide, of which 69 per cent were men. Furthermore, 3,928 responses came from residents of the five poll-bound states.

On changing mood

In response to the survey question on what the appropriate response to high Covid positivity rates in 40 per cent of districts in the poll-bound states, a total 55 per cent said that the issue should be addressed by postponing the election while 41 per cent said the elections must be held as scheduled, between 10 February and 10 March.

“This indicates that as COVID cases positivity rates in poll-bound districts rise, a sizeable over 75% jump has been observed in the number of people who support that 5 state elections be postponed,” LocalCircles said.

LocalCircles founder Sachin Taparia also weighed in, expressing the belief that the mass gatherings during the election period will not only lead to a “worsening of the situation” but will also ultimately depress voter turnout, so postponing the elections will address “both issues”.