Sonowal- 47%, Gaurav -22% Himanta -12% for CM: India Today Poll

India Today's Political Stock Exchange has found that In Assam, forty-four per cent of respondents gave a thumbs up to the state's BJP-led government. Twenty-nine per cent rated it dissatisfactory and 22 per cent found it average.

Forty-seven per cent of respondents favoured Chief Minister Sarbanada Sonowal for another term in office while 22 per cent supported Congress leader Gaurav Gogoi for the job. Twelve per cent backed the BJP's Himanta Biswa Sarma as the next CM of Assam, the poll found.

PSE ASSAM METHODOLOGY

With a sample size of 5,343, the PSE survey in Assam was based on telephone interviews in the state's 14 parliamentary constituencies.

LOCAL ISSUES

Rural road connectivity emerged as the top concern for 46 per cent of respondents followed by agricultural issues, power and drinking water supplies, according to the PSE poll.

FUEL PRICES

Thirty-eight per cent of respondents blamed the central government and six per cent the state's for the fuel price hikes. Seventeen per cent found both governments responsible for the rising costs of petrol and diesel, the poll showed.

NATIONAL REGISTER OF CITIZENS (NRC)

According to the PSE survey, as high as 72 per cent of Assam residents support the government's NRC drive to identify illegal migrants from Bangladesh.

Twenty-three per cent stayed neutral when asked about their views on the NRC.

RAFALE ROW

Seventy-two per cent of Assam residents are unaware of the Rafale row, the poll showed. Of them 70 per cent were non-committal about accusations of corruption.

Sixteen per cent of respondents ticked the "yes" box and 14 per cent the "no" when asked whether they thought the fighter-jet deal was tainted by graft.

MODI VERSUS GANDHI

Fifty-one per cent of Assam voters threw their weight behind PM Modi for another term as the prime minister. Twenty-eight per cent favoured Gandhi for the job, according to the PSE survey.

REACTIONS

The BJP described the PSE's findings about Assam's citizen registry as a vindication of its stand on the drive.

"This only corroborates, vindicates what one sees when you go to the ground. I think a lot of people see this distinction that the NRC will be seen by people from the religious perspective. But it's a native Assamese versus illegal immigrants issue. Even the large religious minorities in Assam, the native Muslims, are opposed to the influx of Bangladeshis in Assam."

– Narasimha Rao

Psephologist Yogendra Yadav,  said the BJP's future success hinges largely on its alliance with the AGP.

"The real question is not whether the NRC is a good idea or not. Almost everyone approves of it. It's not only the majority community, but a large number of Muslims also approve of it," the psephologist noted. "The real question is whether the manner in which it is implemented is discriminatory. The BJP's success in the Lok Sabha elections depends on keeping that alliance together. And that alliance is seriously under danger."

PSE ASSAM METHODOLOGY

With a sample size of 5,343, the PSE survey in Assam was based on telephone interviews in the state's 14 parliamentary constituencies.