Indian Politics & Policy Volume 3, Number 1, Spring 2020 | Page 102

Table 8: Preference for Modi as the next PM
Source: CSDS data unit
Note: All figures are in percentages
Indian Politics & Policy
Rahul Gandhi Narendra Modi
2019 2014 2019 2014
Overall 23 14 47 36
Youth 23 16 51 41
Others 23 14 46 35
Table 9: PM Candidate Swayed Young BJP voters
Party Candidate PM Candidate
Young BJP Voters 36 28 33
BJP voters from other age groups 40 27 29
All voters 44 32 17
Source: CSDS data unit
Note: All figures are in percentages
better alternative that worked? This section
looks into the factors that made it
possible for the BJP to further enhance
its vote share among young voters.
a. Satisfaction with the Performance
of the BJP-Led NDA Government
In elections, it is assumed that one of
the most important and evident operational
principles is that good performance
is rewarded by voters. Three out
of every four young voters expressed
satisfaction with the performance of the
BJP-led NDA government in the Centre
(Table 7). Looking at the net extremes
(those fully satisfied minus those fully
dissatisfied), the net satisfaction with
BJP central government among young
voters was double compared to adult
or other voters (12 vs. 6). Young voters
seem to be satisfied with how the
BJP government had performed in the
previous five years and this satisfaction
also showed in their vote preference.
b. Leadership
For the BJP, the elections revolved
around Narendra Modi and the party
canvassed for votes in his name. There
was strong support for Narendra Modi,
where half of the young voters wanted
to see him as the prime minster (51
percent). This figure decreased to 46
percent among the other respondents.
This number was not only 10 percentage
points higher than in 2014 but also
28 percentage points higher than the
support for Rahul Gandhi, the second
most preferred person after Modi (Table
8). Despite this gap, support for Rahul
Gandhi also increased from 2014.
Thus, the support for other potential
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