Chhattisgarh BJP government let voters down: ADR

New Delhi, April 1 (IANS) The previous BJP government in Chhattisgarh, led by Raman Singh, performed "poorly and underwhelmingly" on almost all governance parameters, including employment, public transport, agricultural infrastructure, and law and order, according to a report by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR).

The survey, conducted between October and December 2018 in the state then ruled by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), was and released on Monday. The Raman Singh government was in power in the state for 15 years, before it was replaced by the Congress in December 2018.

The Chhattisgarh Survey Report 2018 stated that voters' priorities were neglected by the government. "This is clear as the government has performed 'poorly and underwhelmingly' on all the 10 governance concerns rated by voters," said the ADR report.

According to the report, employment, public transport and better roads were top priorities for voters and the government performed "below average" on all three.

In rural areas, the concerns were employment, availability of water and electricity for agriculture and the government performed below average on these as well, the report said.

It scored 2.05 on a scale of 5 on employment, 2.08 on availability of water for farms and 2.05 on availability of electricity for agriculture, it said. "In addition, the government performed poorly in providing subsidy for seeds/fertilisers (2.15) and higher price realisation of farm products (2.07)," the report stated.

According to the survey, employment, better law and order, and better roads were major concerns for urban voters.

"The government's performance on urban voter priorities of better employment opportunities (2.22), better law and order/policing (2.20) and better roads (2.12) was rated below average. In addition, the government has performed poorly in providing public transport (2.18) and drinking water (2.52)," the report said.