Want to know which constituency has the most number of grievances? What are the pressing issues people in the state are grappling with? The students of Osmania University seem to have answers to all these and more, and they are willing to share it if you promise them a cool packet.
With elections round the corner, independent candidates, political parties and agencies that conduct pre-poll surveys are all eager to know the pulse of the people. And cashing on this need for news, are young political science graduates who want to make a quick buck or two this summer.
about 1,000 students from the social and political science streams are touring various constituencies in the state, going door to door conducting pre-poll surveys for all top political parties. A. Laxman, an arts student, says, “My first assignment was in a constituency called Yellareddy in the Nizamabad district. I was hired by the Centre for documentation, research and communication (CDRC) who were conducting surveys on the problems of the people from this part of the state, which is largely untouched by development.”
The process is fairly simple and the money is good, a reason why these surveys attract students in hordes.
“They give us a questionnaire to find out who people plan to vote for and why, what they think of their previous MLA or MP, the parameters on the basis of which they would vote et al. One can make Rs 1,500 to Rs 2,000 over a weekend,” Laxman adds.
Private players are not all. The state government’s information and Public relations department has also been hiring students to get them information from the grass root level.
B. Ashok, a student of journalism says, “I was roped in to survey the Secunderabad and Malkajgiri constituencies, which almost all candidates have been eyeing. We conduct a survey every 15 days in the same constituency as the situation keeps changing. And this will go on till the elections are over.”
Meanwhile, a few enterprising students are approaching political leaders and NRIs directly with the promise that they will undertake surveys on their behalf. They charge Rs 10 lakh to survey a Lok sabha constituency and Rs 3.5 lakh for an assembly constituency. “When you know what people want, convincing them to vote for you becomes easier. We take approximately one week to survey an assembly segment. There are many independent candidates who wish to get into politics but they are not aware of the problems of a particular constituency. Such people hire us to conduct surveys among 1,000 voters.”
Top 5 problems in the state
* Frequent, unannounced power cuts
* Sanitation problem
* Lack of drinking water
* Traffic congestion and bad roads in all the metroes.
* Poor infrastructure of government schools across the state.
http://www.deccanchronicle.com/cover/poll-surveys%2C-hot-new-summer-jobs-529
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