Thanthi TV survey suggests DMK-Congress will sweep Tamil Nadu in Lok Sabha election

Chennai-based Tamil news channel Thanthi TV has conducted an opinion poll among Tamil Nadu and Puducherry voters ahead of next year's Lok Sabha election. Thanthi TV says its opinion survey was conducted in all district capitals; 8,250 people were asked for their opinions.

Thanthi TV’s survey findings published on July 24 shows that the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam-Congress alliance could sweep the Lok Sabha polls in Tamil Nadu, amid widespread dissatisfaction in the southern state at the performance of the Narendra Modi Government at the centre. A whopping 41% of respondents said they would vote for the DMK-Congress coalition if Lok Sabha polls were held today.

Surprisingly, Thanthi TV differs vastly from another recent opinion poll in placing the ruling AIADMK in second position, in terms of voter preferences, reporting that 25% of people surveyed said they would vote for AIADMK. Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party was the choice of only 3% of respondents. Yet superstar Rajnikanth, who is yet to announce any plans to stand for elections and has been echoing BJP positions on many issues including holding simultaneous elections, finds favour with 5% of respondents, the same number who said they would vote for Kamal Haasan, who has actually launched a political party, the Makkal Needhi Maiam, and is seen as being closer to the DMK-Congress alliance.

The AMMK of TTV Dinakaran, who handily won late Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa’s seat of RK Nagar in a bypoll—taken as a sign that voter’s in Jayalalithaa’s home seat considered the AMMK of Dinakaran’s incarcerated aunt VK Sasikala to be the true inheritor of her political legacy—earned only 8% of respondent’s approval.

There is no good news for BJP President Amit Shah from the survey findings, with 12% more respondents preferring Rahul Gandhi (37%) as India’s next Prime Minister over Narendra Modi (25%). In terms of performance of the Narendra Modi government, 64% of respondents said it was ‘Not good’. And a massive 75% said they Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s demonetisation decision was not worth the effort.

Following are key findings from the opinion poll:

Key findings of Thanthi TV opinion poll in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry ahead of Lok Sabha elections

If the Lok Sabha elections take place today, who will you vote for?

• DMK-Congress coalition 41%
• AIADMK 25%
• AMMK 8%
• Others 6%
• Kamal Haasan’s Makkal Needhi Maiam 5%
• Rajinikanth 5%
• PMK 4%
• BJP 3%
• Naam Tamilar 3%

Who is your choice for Prime Minister?

• Rahul Gandhi 37%
• Narendra Modi 20%
• Third face 43%

Which states perform better?

• BJP coalition-ruled 27%
• Congress coalition-ruled 36%
• Non-Congress/Non-BJP-ruled 37%

How do you find the performance of the Modi government?

• Good 10%
• Average 26%
• Not good 64%

Is the Modi Government religiously inclined or not?

• Yes 44%
• No 14%
• Like any other government 42%

Did PM Narendra Modi's demonetisation campaign bring any change?

• It brought about change 14%
• Not worth the effort 75%
• Hardly any change 11%