India
oi-Ashish Rana
The BJP is heading towards the 2027 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections with a strong lead over its rivals, according to a survey released by News18. However, questions over alleged irregularities in Ram temple donations and concerns about employment could pose challenges for the ruling party.
A News18 survey indicates the BJP-led NDA holds a strong 66.6% lead in Uttar Pradesh for the 2027 Assembly elections, with Yogi Adityanath preferred as CM, despite voter concerns regarding Ram temple donation allegations and employment.
The survey findings offer insights into public satisfaction with the Yogi Adityanath government and the issues voters consider important. However, they do not establish whether the Ram temple donation controversy has changed voting preferences or weakened the BJP’s electoral support.
Conducted in association with P-Value Analytics, the survey covered 30,925 people across all 75 districts of Uttar Pradesh.
1. UP Election 2027: BJP Maintains A Strong Lead
The survey indicates that the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) remains ahead of the opposition ahead of the Assembly elections.
Key findings on voting preferences:
- BJP-led NDA: 66.6% support.
- Samajwadi Party-Congress alliance: 26.4% support.
- Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP): 5.4% support.
- Another BJP term: 65.2% believe the BJP should receive another term.
- Government formation: 66.6% expect the NDA to return to power, compared with 26.5% who expect an SP-Congress government.
The figures give the NDA a lead of 40.2 percentage points over the SP-Congress alliance.
This suggests that the BJP’s overall position remains strong among respondents. However, the findings do not show whether the party’s support would have been higher or lower without recent controversies.
2. Ram Temple Donation Controversy: Who Do People Blame?
The survey examined public opinion on alleged theft of donations collected for the Ram temple. Respondents expressed different views about who should be held responsible.
Who did respondents blame?
- Temple trust officials: 31.2%.
- Employees and contractors: 20.6%.
- State government: 13.7%.
The largest share blamed temple trust officials, while a smaller proportion held the state government responsible.
The issue could carry political significance because of the temple’s religious importance and its association with the BJP’s political agenda. However, the survey does not establish whether the controversy has caused BJP supporters to change their voting preferences.
The figures reflect respondents’ opinions about responsibility. They should not be treated as proof of criminal wrongdoing or as evidence that a specific percentage of voters intends to vote against the BJP.
3. Yogi Adityanath Remains Ahead Of Akhilesh Yadav
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath continues to lead the chief ministerial preference rankings, with a substantial gap over Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav.
Preferred chief minister:
- Yogi Adityanath: 66.2%.
- Akhilesh Yadav: 24.4%.
- Mayawati: 5%.
- Chandrashekhar Azad: 1.8%.
The survey also found that 77.1% of respondents were satisfied with the Yogi government’s performance, while 13.5% expressed dissatisfaction.
Other government performance ratings were:
- Law and order: 74% satisfaction.
- Infrastructure: 68.6%.
- Government welfare schemes: 66.3%.
These figures suggest that the chief minister’s popularity and public satisfaction with governance remain important advantages for the BJP.
4. Jobs And Inflation Could Challenge The BJP
Employment emerged as the weakest-rated area among the seven aspects of government performance examined in the survey.
Key findings on employment and other concerns:
- Employment satisfaction: 58.3%.
- Satisfaction among unemployed respondents: 50.7%.
- Satisfaction among landless and unskilled workers: Around 52% to 53%.
- Employment as the top election issue: 21.4%.
- Inflation as the top election issue: 19.2%.
- Law and order as the top election issue: 33.4%.
The findings suggest that jobs and rising prices could become important campaign issues for the opposition. While the BJP retains a strong overall lead, concerns about employment may influence voters who are dissatisfied with the government’s performance.
The survey also found that the BJP retained around 91% of respondents who said they had voted for it in the 2022 and 2024 elections. The SP-Congress alliance retained around 83% to 85% of its previous supporters.
Has The Controversy Hurt BJP?
The survey presents a favourable picture for the BJP ahead of the 2027 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections. The NDA leads in voting preference, Yogi Adityanath remains the preferred chief minister, and satisfaction with the government is relatively high.
However, the survey does not directly measure the electoral impact of the Ram temple donation controversy. Employment and inflation also remain potential weaknesses for the ruling party.
