In what could be seen as an endorsement of its government in the State, the ruling AIADMK in Tamil Nadu has increased its vote share by three percentage points — from 23 in the 2009 Lok Sabha election to 26 now — according to a survey conducted by the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies (CSDS) for CNN-IBN and The Hindu .
The survey also predicts both the Congress and the BJP would stand to gain in the State if a general election were to be held now. The opinion poll says Tamil Nadu voters believe that the AIADMK government led by Jayalalithaa is faring better than the UPA government at the Centre and the previous DMK regime on various counts. Nearly two-thirds (65 per cent) of the 786 respondents are satisfied with Ms. Jayalalithaa’s government as against the satisfaction level of 39 per cent for the UPA regime. Similarly, comparing the AIADMK government with the DMK regime (2006-2011), the approval rating for the former is 43 per cent against 26 per cent for the latter. The survey also endorses the conventional rule of thumb that in rural areas the AIADMK is stronger than the DMK. But the AIADMK’s gain is limited only to a three percentage point rise in terms of vote share. However, the AIADMK’s arch-rival, the DMK, should be worried about the survey’s findings. Its vote base has gone down sharply — from 25 per cent in 2009 to 16. Those polled say that the DMK’s credibility is low on key issues, such as the Sri Lankan Tamil question.
