A decorated structure in the shape of a lotus at the BJP headquarters in New Delhi. File
| Photo Credit: The Hindu

The BJP promised good days — a prosperous future — for the citizens in its 2014 campaign. There has also been a lot of talk about expanding India’s economy in order to make it one among the leading economies of the world. Critics of the BJP point out to the increasing inequality in India. Ten years down the line, debates among economists notwithstanding, how do citizens perceive their economic condition?

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On a general note, nearly half the respondents agreed that their life had become ‘better’ over the last five years while a little over one-third of respondents said that their condition had become comparatively worse (Table 1). For a government that has been in power for a decade, it is somewhat creditable that a large section of the population perceives that their condition has improved. But to a concrete question whether the household can fulfil its needs and save comfortably, only a little over one in every five declared that they can save after taking care of their household requirements. Nearly one in every three said that they can comfortably fulfil their needs though they were not able to save after meeting all expenses. All others (more than one third) found it difficult in varying degrees to make both ends meet (Table 2). Expectedly, among the poor, the proportion of respondents facing difficulty in fulfilling household needs was the highest.

In other words, citizens do not perceive their economic condition as very comfortable. Against one-sixth (16%), who are happy that acche din have arrived already, over two of every ten, think that good days have not really arrived and another less than two of every ten, appear sceptical about the arrival of good days. Respondents from the poor and lower economic strata are more inclined to say that acche din have not arrived. It is interesting that among urban voters, this proportion is higher than among rural voters (Table 3).

How this lacklustre perception of their economic condition will affect voters’ decision in the coming elections is bound to be of central curiosity in any discussion during the campaign and in the run-up to voting.