In a recent pre-poll survey and exit polls conducted in Gujarat by leading television news channel ‘Times Now’, more than 80% of Gujaratis say their hearts still beat for Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is the ‘Son of the Soil’.  “For this single reason, we would continue to vote in his favour (and the BJP),” they told during the survey.

Assembly polls are to be held in Gujarat in December; as per poll schedule announced by the Election Commission, the two-phase polling would be held on 09th and 14th December while counting of votes would be taken up on 18th December. Congress has been fighting hard and doing its best to break into Gujarat, which has become a ‘BJP bastion’ for the past many years now.

Results of exit polls conducted by ‘Times Now’ and ‘India Today’ haven’t been encouraging for the Congress which has been predicted to sit in the Opposition benches in the Assembly for the fifth term. Surveys were based on people’s response to three main questions posed to them. When queried about the proposed huge statue of Sardar Patel, the ‘iron man of India’, to come up in the State, 46% welcomed the move while 32% of those surveyed felt it was a move intended to strengthen the BJP’s vote-bank. 22% chose not to comment on the issue.

Second question was whether they would vote for Modi’s BJP merely/mainly because he was the ‘Son of the Soil’. An overwhelming percentage of 81% replied in the affirmative. Third question was who, in their opinion, was the best chief-minister of Gujarat in recent times to which 67% chose Modi, who had held the chief-minister’s post four times in the past while 20% chose Anandiben Patel.  13% chose incumbent chief-minister Vijay Rupani.