Is PM Modi's Ayodhya Ram Mandir pitch failing to impress voters ahead of Lok Sabha polls 2024? Survey reveals…

livemint.com:

Ayodhya Ram Mandir's Pran Pratistha ceremony was held with much fanfare, giving rise to speculations that this would help Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) seal an edge over the opposition parties in the upcoming Lok Sabha Polls. However, a survey in a Reuters report, says that while 22% of Indian voters surveyed considered the Ayodhya Ram Mandir their "most liked action" of PM Modi's government, only 8% considered this to be their primary concern. The Ram Mandir has been increasingly used by the BJP in their poll campaigns in the run up to the Lok Sabha elections.

PM Modi had on Friday attacked opponent Congress over the same. "Ram devotees of the entire world have seen this arrogance of yours ... this is an election game for you," PM Modi said.

Congress had refused to attend the Ayodhya Ram Mandir inauguration ceremony saying that the event had been turned into a ‘political project’ of the saffron camp and that the consecration had been brought forward "for electoral gain". While on the one hand PM Modi talked about rising employment in the decade he governed India, the survey reported by Reuters mentions that unemployment rate in India rose to 5.4% in 2022-23, from 4.9% in 2013-14. According to official data, nearly 16% of urban youth in the 15-29 years age group remained unemployed in 2022-23 due to poor skills, and a lack of quality jobs.

The voters in India, according to the Reuters report, have unemployment as their primary concern for choosing the next government. Unemployment was the primary concern of 27% of the 10,000 voters surveyed by Lokniti-CSDS across 19 of India's 28 states. Rising prices came second at 23%, Hindu reported.