HVK Archives: Majority averse to Sonia's entry
Majority averse to Sonia's entry - The Pioneer
Pioneer News Service
()
11 May 1997
Title : Majority averse to Sonia's entry
Author : Pioneer News Service
Publication : The Pioneer
Date : May 11, 1997
An opinion poll conducted by the psephological group C-Voter for The Pioneer on
the political implications of Ms Sonia Gandhi joining the Congress has revealed
that though the mood is upbeat among 75 per cent of the party supporters, who feel
the Congress stands to gain, two-thirds of the voters do not endorse her plunge
into politics, while a large chunk maintains that the era of Nehru-Gandhi dynasty
is well over and that her entry is guided by personal reasons than commitment to
any lofty ideal.
To gauge the mood in the Capital, C-Voter quizzed 805 eligible voters comprising
men and women in all age-groups.
Interestingly, majority of the respondents favoured Mr Atal Bihari Vajpayee for
prime ministership vis-a-vis Ms Sonia Gandhi. While 57 per cent of them pitched
for Mr Vajpayee, only 27 per cent accepted Ms Gandhi. The Vajpayee charisma cut
across party barriers with even one-fourth of the Congress supporters maintaining
that he was more competent than Ms Gandhi to lead the country.
Prime Minister Inder Kumar Gujral ranked the lowest on the popularity chart with
only 10 per cent support. However, 20 per cent of senior male citizens backed Mr
Gujral.
On the question of what propelled her into politics, while one-fifth of the voters
felt it was dictated by the Bofors pay-off case, a majority maintained she wanted
to strengthen the Congress.
A large chunk of the voters -75 per cent, including a sizeable section of the BJP
supporters, -were of the view that the Sonia factor would help consolidate the
Congress. But one-third of them still felt she may not prove to be a factor
strong enough to change the destiny of the Congress. About 10 per cent maintained
that her enrolment as member will mar party prospects.
About 60 per cent of the middle-aged voters felt that the Congress would gain, but
about 45 per cent of the younger voters disagreed. The negative feeling was
voiced mostly by senior male citizens, majority of whom did not see any gain for
the Congress. One-fourth of them even predicted a bleak future for the party.
However, the female voters saw the situation differently with the majority of the
aged voters maintaining that the Congress would gain. Almost half of the young
female voters, however, did not agree with the view.
Strangely enough, despite predicting a gain for the Congress, two-thirds of the
respondents did not endorse her role in politics. The feeling was most intense
among the female voters, 60 per cent of whom said she should leave politics and
take up social service. A staggering 77 per cent of aged women voters, too, were
averse to Ms Gandhi moving to the political centrestage.
Despite the negative perception of the female voters, a majority of the male
Congress supporters wanted her to become the prime minister through active
politics. However, the Congress voters were divided on whether she should join
active politics or undertake social service.
The opinion varied drastically among different age-groups: While about one-third
of the middle-aged people wanted to see her in active politics, a whopping
three-fourth of the aged voters felt on the contrary.
The general voter overwhelmingly maintained that the era of Nehru-Gandhi dynasty
was over. Asked whether only this family could effectively govern the country,
two-third of the respondents said a decisive no.
This negative feeling was more evident among the male voters, 70 per cent of whom
said the family could nolonger lead the nation. But about 37 per cent of women
thought that the Nehru-Gandhi family was born to rule.
Surprisingly, senior citizens, who have seen the dynasty in power since
Independence, observed that it was time for the family to give up the claim for
running the country and favoured change. About 75 per cent of them said the family
is not the last word in Indian governance. The view was equally shared by men and
women among the senior citizens. But a classic contrast appears among the
middle-aged voters, where about half of males felt that only Nehru-Gandhi family
could run this country. But about 70 per cent female voters in middle age
rejected the view.
This scenario turned interesting in case of young voters, with male youths, unlike
their female counterparts, outrightly rejecting the dynasty.
Though the Nehru-Gandhi clan still rules the psyche of majority of Congressmen,
but cracks in their ranks holds out. In a party which used to be swayed by a
single family finally showed a shift in personal loyalties.
About one-third of the Congress felt the party had other capable leaders to run
the Government. The shift seemed to be a result of the five-year tenure of Mr P V
Narasimha -the first-ever Prime Minister outside the Nehru-Gandhi clan to complete
his term.
Women were more sympathetic towards Ms Gandhi joining politics, with 70 per cent
saying that she is there not for personal gains. The male voters, however, held a
different view with 43 per cent of them rejecting that she joined the Congress to
pursue any noble ideals.
About one-fourth of the male voters were of the view that her joining the Congress
was linked to the Bofors probe, while about 20 per cent of them said she was
driven by the lust for power.
About one-third of senior citizens felt that Ms Gandhi wanted to scuttle the
Bofors proble. But there was a marked divergence of opinion among the men and
women senior citizens.
While only one-third of the aged women voters suspected the credentials of Ms
Gandhi, a whopping majority of two-third old men did not equate her entry with any
higher goal.
Even one-fourth of the Congress supporters themselves felt she entered politics
not for the sake of party, but for personal gains.
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