New Delhi: India got its first tribal president with the election of National Democratic Alliance (NDA) candidate Droupadi Murmu to the position on July 21. The tribal woman leader from Odisha defeated her rival and opposition candidate Yashwant Sinha by a margin of 947 votes, bagging 64.03 per cent of the Electoral College votes.
Congratulating former BJP member Murmu on being elected to the top constitutional post, Prime Minister Narendra Modi described her victory as “a ray of hope” for the “poor, marginalised and the downtrodden”.
Murmu’s candidature and her subsequent victory in the presidential election is being seen by many as an attempt on the part of the BJP to woo the tribal voters across the country ahead of upcoming Assembly polls in several states and 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
CVoter-IndiaTracker conducted a nationwide survey on behalf of IANS to know people’s views about Murmu’s victory in presidential elections and its political impact on various elections in the country.
According to the survey data, the majority of Indians believe that the victory of Murmu in the presidential poll will benefit the BJP in the upcoming assembly polls and 2024 Lok Sabha elections. During the survey, 68 per cent respondents opined that Droupadi Murmu’s occupying of the top constitutional post will prove beneficial for the BJP electorally. However, 32 per cent of respondents did not share the sentiment.
During the survey, while a whopping majority of NDA voters – 82 per cent stressed that Droupadi Murmu’s win in presidential polls will bring political dividends for the ruling BJP, views of the opposition supporters were divided on the issue.
As per the survey data, even a bigger proportion of opposition voters – 57 per cent believe that the results of presidential polls will help the BJP in various elections, including 2024 general elections. However, 43 per cent of them disagreed with the sentiment.
As for the views of different social groups on the issue, while the majority of respondents from different communities asserted that victory of Murmu in the presidential poll will help BJP politically, Muslims were divided on the issue. During the survey, 72 per cent of Scheduled Castes (SC), 63 per cent Scheduled Tribes (ST), 71 per cent Other Backward Classes (OBC) and 72 per cent Upper Caste Hindus (UCH) opined that the results of presidential election indicate that the BJP’s strategy to field a tribal woman as NDA candidate will help the party in electoral battles.
As per survey data, while 49 per cent Muslims share this sentiment, 51 per cent of the respondents from the community disagree.
IANS