Eedina survey: Women want Karnataka government to focus on five guarantee schemes

An independent survey by the Kannada news portal Eedina has found that 50% of the respondents feel that the five guarantee schemes announced by the Congress in Karnataka before it came to power in the state should assume priority in the state. The survey showed that price rise was the next pressing issue that the state government should concentrate on. Eedina found that there was more interest in the guarantee scheme among women. “About 52.77% of women want the guarantee schemes to be implemented on priority,” the survey results said. Eedina said that the survey comprised 2,460 respondents selected randomly from 38 Assembly constituencies. “While 55.2% of them were male respondents, 44.8% of them were female. Around 50 people were interviewed from each constituency for this purpose. The average age of the respondents stands at 41, and the average educational qualification ranges between PUC and undergraduation,” Eedina said.  The five guarantee schemes – Gruha Lakshmi, Gruha Jyothi, Shakti, Anna Bhagya and Yuva Nidhi – were announced by the Congress before the party won the elections. The Gruha Lakshmi scheme provides financial assistance of Rs 2,000 per month to women who head their households. The Gruha Jyothi scheme promises free-of-cost 200 units of electricity for domestic consumers. The Shakti scheme provides free bus travel for women. The Anna Bhagya scheme provides food grains free of cost to poor people. The Yuva Nidhi scheme promises a monthly amount to unemployed graduates or diploma holders for two years.  While 64% of the respondents from Scheduled Caste communities called for the implementation of the guarantee schemes, the number was only 44% of the respondents from the general category. A majority of the respondents (68.13%) said there was a need for guarantee schemes, while only 24.19% opposed the guarantee schemes. About 7.68% of them have opted for the “don’t know” option.  A majority of the women said they favoured the three women-centric schemes - Gruha Jyothi, Gruha Lakshmi and Shakti. Only 15.69% of the respondents felt these schemes would not help women. Respondents also felt that the media was distorting the narrative around the guarantee schemes. The survey report also said that 51.22% of the respondents said the “media was intentionally creating confusion” over the guarantee schemes, while 23.66% felt that the media was accurately showcasing the shortcomings in the implementation of schemes.  Around 25.12% of them have said they are “unaware” of the matter. Despite the controversies surrounding it, the Shakti scheme seems to have found resonance with the respondents. About 60.28% of the respondents felt the scheme is “good,” while 24.27% of them feel otherwise.  Other issues highlighted in the survey are corruption (10.45%), improvement of schools, colleges and hospitals (6.75%), creating employment opportunities (4.55%), reducing communal tensions (4.43%) and combating crimes (1.75%). The Kannada web portal Eedina had correctly predicted that the Congress would come to power in Karnataka in its pre-poll survey prepared in March and April 2023. It prepares surveys every month on socio-political and economic issues. In April 2023, Eedina predicted Congress would secure between 132 and 140 seats, the BJP would get 57-65 seats, and the JD(S) would stand a distant third, garnering 19-25 seats. The Congress won 135 seats, the BJP won 66 and the JD(S) won 19 seats in the elections. While its vote share predictions were not accurate for all parties, Eedina’s survey correctly predicted the Congress’ vote percentage at 43%.