The survey attributed the lesser popularity of BJP leaders to the struggles with groupism in the saffron party and the lack of a clear chief ministerial candidate.
Published May 23, 2025 | 11:11 AM ⚊ Updated May 23, 2025 | 11:11 AM
DK Shivakumar, BS Yediyurappa, Siddaramaiah, HD Kumaraswamy and BY Vijayendra.
Synopsis: According to a survey, most people in Karnataka prefer Siddaramaiah as the chief minister, even while the Congress is facing anti-incumbency. Siddaramaiah’s personal popularity is a key asset for the Congress, despite the party’s declining support.
Siddaramaiah, along with his colleagues, celebrated two years in office as the Chief Minister of Karnataka for the second time. The Congress government in the state is hoping for public support, banking on its five guarantee schemes and a newly announced sixth.
However, a survey by Hyderabad-based People’s Pulse Political Research Organisation, in collaboration with Codemo Technologies, showed that the Congress government is facing massive anti-incumbency, owing to high inflation and delays in the implementation of welfare schemes.
Even then, most of the people who responded to the survey prefer Siddaramaiah to the top post, followed by Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar.
The survey, from 17 April to 18 May, engaging 10,481 respondents across rural and urban areas, projected that the BJP would form a government in the state if an election were conducted now. However, no BJP leader features among the top three in people’s preference for chief minister.
Siddaramaiah remains the most preferred leader for chief minister, with 29.2 percent of the respondents supporting him, followed by Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar (10.7%). Siddaramaiah’s personal popularity is a key asset for the Congress, despite the party’s declining support.
Meanwhile, JD(S) leader HD Kumaraswamy (7.6%) remains in the third position, followed by former BJP chief minister BS Yediyurappa (5.5%) and Karnataka BJP President BY Vijayendra (5.2%).
The survey said Congress faces internal factionalism, particularly between Siddaramaiah and DK Shivakumar, weakening its electoral prospects and that tit has hindered the party’s ability to counter the BJP effectively.
The survey attributed the lesser popularity of BJP leaders to the struggles with groupism in the saffron party and the lack of a clear chief ministerial candidate. The absence of a prominent BJP leader contrasts with Siddaramaiah’s sustained personal popularity, providing the Congress with a strategic advantage despite its challenges.
According to the survey, Siddaramaiah emerges as the most preferred chief minister candidate among Congress supporters, with 58.2 percent backing him, followed by DK Shivakumar at 20.9 percent.
Among BJP supporters, 32 percent favoured any BJP candidate, while BS Yediyurappa and BY Vijayendra received 9.9 percent support each. Siddaramaiah received only eight percent support from BJP voters.
HD Kumaraswamy retained strong support from JD(S) voters, with 66.1 percent choosing him as their preferred chief minister, while 7.3 percent of JD(S) voters preferred Siddaramaiah.
Meanwhile, across all genders, age groups, regions, religions, social categories, levels of education, and occupations, Siddaramaiah emerged as the most preferred chief minister.
However, caste groups Vokkaligas and Vishwakarma prefer Kumaraswamy and Lingayats prefer Vijayendra. Kuruba, Nayak/Naik, Adi Karnataka, Valmiki, Marathas, Madiga and Madar communities continue to support Siddaramaiah.
However, the survey has shown that the Congress government is facing massive anti-incumbency, owing to high inflation and delays and improper implementation of welfare schemes and that the BJP is gaining substantial public support.
Meanwhile, Narendra Modi led as the most preferred prime minister candidate with 59.1 percent of the vote share. Rahul Gandhi followed with 17.3 percent, while Yogi Adityanath secured 10.9 percent. Mallikarjun Kharge received 2.3 percent of the votes and 10.4 percent preferred others.
(Edited by Muhammed Fazil.)
