From: sunder@grusin.crhc.uiuc.edu (Srinivas Sunder)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.indian
Subject: India Today - MARG Opinion Poll [ PART II ]
Date: 11 Jan 1993 21:19:23 GMT
Organization: Center for Reliable and High-Performance Computing, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Distribution: world
NNTP-Posting-Host: grusin.crhc.uiuc.edu

Copied verbatim from the latest INN bulletin. Comments within square brackets
are mine

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      The Nationwide opinion polls conducted by INDIA TODAY - MARG has been
   reproduced here. This appeared in the Jan 15th issue of INDIA TODAY.

      ALL FIGURES ARE IN PERCENTAGE. Highlights are key statements picked out
   from the explanation given in INDIA TODAY for each poll option. Some
   statements may be differently worded or shortened to save time and space.

 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------

      * ALL FIGURES IN PERCENTAGE.


                            DECISION TO REBUILD MOSQUE
                            --------------------------

                           Approve       Disapprove     No Opinion
                           ---------------------------------------
     ALL INDIA             | 35.7 |        | 53.3 |      | 11.0 |

     Cong(I) voters          40.3            38.5          21.2
     BJP voters              10.3            76.7          13.0

     Hindus                  29.9            59.3          10.8
     Muslims                 78.3            11.6          10.1

     North Zone              26.6            65.8           7.6
     South zone              49.9            30.5          19.6

  Highlights :
          *  The decision to rebuild the mosque finds no favour with the
             electorate. The decision does have pockets of support - the
             Muslim voter & the southern voter.
             [Methinks that this question should have been asked as part of
              the temple+mosque question later. It would have then found more
              support, probably.]


                    APPROVAL FOR POST-DEMOLITION MEASURES
                    -------------------------------------

                      UP Govt.      Arrest of      Banning of     BJP Govt.
                      Dismissal     BJP leaders   organisations   dismissal
                      -----------------------------------------------------
     ALL INDIA         | 55.2 |      | 48.0 |       | 49.9 |       | 37.1 |

     Cong(I) voters      69.0          63.7           64.2           51.1
     BJP voters          29.4          17.5           22.8           11.8

     Muslims             85.3          84.4           80.9           76.7

     North zone          46.8          38.7           44.3           30.4
     South zone          70.6          70.9           69.3           50.6

  Highlights :
          *  Voters supported the sacking of the UP govt, but clearly
             condemned the dismissal of the BJP govts in other states.


                               WHAT SHOULD BE BUILT ?
                               ----------------------

                         Only      Temple &     Only    Temple &     No
                        Temple     Mosque      Mosque   Mosque     Opinion
                                   separate             together
                      -----------------------------------------------------
     ALL INDIA         | 22.0 |    | 22.1 |    | 7.5 |  | 36.9 |   | 13.5 |

     Cong(I) voters      13.7        17.3        8.9      48.0       12.1
     BJP voters          38.3        34.1        1.9      19.8        5.9

     Muslims              5.3         6.6       28.6      51.6        7.9

     North zone          31.9        34.1        3.9      23.4        6.7
     South zone           8.9        13.7       13.0      46.7       17.7

  Highlights :
          *  To 37 % of the voters the most acceptable option was that the
             temple and the mosque be built side by side. 
             [VHP and BMAC: Watch out]
          *  The Govenments option of only a masjid at the site virtually
             finds no takers.
          *  The only-temple option finds great support in the north and among
             BJP backers, while Cong(I) voters, Muslims and the south prefer
             the 'unity' option.


                        WHO MAKES THE BEST PRIME MINISTER ?
                        -----------------------------------

                       ALL INDIA   BJP voters   Muslims   North   South
                       ------------------------------------------------
   P.V. Narasimha Rao   | 25.0 |     11.3        31.1     17.9    28.0
                        |      |
   A.B. Vajpayee        | 12.2 |     32.3         0.9     21.2     4.5
                        |      |
   V.P. Singh           |  8.2 |      2.3        21.7      9.2    11.1
                        |      |
   L.K. Advani          |  7.2 |     18.8         0.8     10.1     4.5
                        |      |
   Chandra Shekhar      |  1.9 |      1.4         0.8      3.0     1.0
                        |      |
   Sharad Pawar         |  1.9 |      1.5         1.2      0.3     1.1
                        |      |
   Arjun Singh          |  1.8 |      1.1         4.2      1.4     1.5
                        |      |
   Others               | 10.4 |      6.0         7.2     11.4     8.4
                        |      |
   No Opinion           | 31.4 |     25.3        32.1     25.5    39.9

  Highlights :
          *  The voters feel PVN is the best person to lead the nation -
             he is backed by just a quarter of the electorate, with another
             one-third undecided [Maybe this will shut the left-wing of the
             Cong. up?]
          *  Among BJP voters Vajpayee is preferred by almost two-to-one over
             Advani [stunning bit of good noos, eh?]
          *  Muslim voters top two choices are PVN, whom the south prefers,
             [no surprises there] and the Raja (V.P.Singh).

-- 
Srinivas Sunder                                         sunder@crhc.uiuc.edu

If my employer shares these views, I'd be most surprised.
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Newsgroups: soc.culture.indian