As all parties gear up to contest the crucial upcoming Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, ABP News C Voter Survey conducted a snap poll to learn about the top choice for the Chief Minister’s post by peering into the minds of various castes. In the survey, Yogi Adityanath emerged as the clear favourite for the position of Chief Minister.
Apart from Muslim and Yadav voters, Yogi Adityanath resurfaced as the clear frontrunner of people of all other castes that took part in the poll. Be it the Brahmins, Yadavs, the Kurmi, Kushwaha or Jatts, all declared Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath as the next CM of the state.
According to the poll, 67 per cent of Brahmins said Yogi Aditanath was their first choice for the state’s next CM. While 16 per cent of Brahmins consider Akhilesh Yadav worthy of the post only 6 per cent chose Mayawati as their preferred CM face.
The Jat community of western Uttar Pradesh who had rallied strongly behind the BJP in the 2014 and 2019 Lok Sabha polls and 2017 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections have also placed their bets on Yogi Adityanath as the next CM of the state. Though some people of the communities are still upset with the central govt over the farm laws, 37 per cent of them felt that Yogi is still the perfect option as the next CM of the state. The other CM candidates in descending order of preference include Akhilesh Yadav (28%). others (21%) and Mayawati (14%).
Swami Prasad Maurya may have defected from the BJP to join the Samajwadi Party, but Yogi Adityanath still remains the Maurya and Saini community’s preferred option for CM. Yogi’s re-election as CM is supported by 52% of the voters in these two communities. At the same time, Akhilesh Yadav is the preferred candidate of 28% of those surveyed. Mayawati, on the other hand, is the first pick of 13% of those polled. On the other hand, 7% of people prefer the other to be the CM.
In Purvanchal, which is dominated by castes like Kurmi and Kushwaha, 53% want Yogi Adityanath to return as Chief Minister. At the same time, 27% of people want Akhilesh Yadav to be the next Chief Minister. Apart from that, Mayawati is the preferred candidate of 10% of the electorate.
When Rajputs were questioned, 71 per cent said they want Yogi Adityanath to be the next chief minister. Akhilesh Yadav is the preference of 17 per cent of Rajputs. Mayawati is the preference of 5% of Rajputs. Apart from that, 7% of respondents prefer someone else to be the CM.
Speaking about the Yadav caste, Akhilesh Yadav seemed to be their first option. 70% of Yadavs want Akhilesh Yadav to become Chief Minister. At the same time, Yogi has the support of 20% of Yadavs while 5% of Yadavs prefer Mayawati to be the next chief minister.
Despite the fact that Yogi Aditynath has never been a favourite of the Muslim community in the state, 4% of the Muslim population wants him to return as CM. Akhilesh Yadav, on the other hand, is the most popular candidate among Muslims for Chief Minister. Akhilesh Yadav has the backing of 78% of Muslims. Mayawati is supported by 13% of Muslims who want her to be the next chief minister. On the other hand, 5% of Muslims would like someone else to be the next Prime Minister.
It may be noted that most of the opinion polls that have been conducted ahead of the upcoming UP Vidhan Sabha polls have predicted that BJP would return to power with a comfortable majority, with around 230 seats, well over the 202 seats it requires in the 403-seat assembly.
In September 2021, the ABP-CVoter survey had released its pre-poll survey for the upcoming Assembly elections in five states – Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Manipur and Goa. According to the ABP-CVoter survey, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will win in four of the five states going to the polls in early 2022.
The elections for the 403-member Uttar Pradesh Assembly will take place in seven phases from February 10 to March 7. The major political parties in the fray are the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Samajwadi Party (SP), Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), Indian National Congress and debutant Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).
In the 2017 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, BJP had won a whopping 312 seats in the 403-member House, whereas BSP could win only 19 seats. On the other hand, the SP-Congress alliance failed to bear fruit as it could win in only 54 constituencies. While this was considered as a vote of confidence in PM Modi because the BJP had not announced a candidate for CM, Gorakhpur MP Yogi Adityanath was a surprise choice for the position.
