I-PAC leader popularity survey: For 2019, 48% chose Narendra Modi to take forward 'national agenda', 11% opt for Rahul Gandhi

In a survey conducted by The Indian Political Action Committee (I-PAC), 48% of over 57 lakh people from 712 districts reached out to in 55 days see Narendra Modi as the leader to take forward the ‘agenda of the nation’. The survey done by an advocacy group — mentored by political strategist Prashant Kishor — under National Agenda Forum (NAF) has nominated 923 leaders for the respondents to choose from. [caption id=“attachment_5069701” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  File image of Narendra Modi. PTI[/caption] Rahul Gandhi follows Modi with 11% votes whereas Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal has claimed the third spot with 9.3% votes Meanwhile, former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav with 7 % votes in the fourth spot followed by West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) supremo Mayawati with 4.2% and 3.1% votes, respectively. The survey states that the respondents cited women’s empowerment, farm crisis, economic inequality, problems of students, education in health and hygiene, sanitation, communal unity and basic education among the top priority issues for the country. The survey also lists 10 non-political personalities nominated by the people to join politics. Aamir Khan, Akshay Kumar and Anna Hazare top this list. I-PAC launched the NAF in July to mobilise about one crore citizens to formulate an actionable agenda for citizens to choose their leaders online in the 2019 elections, an official said on Sunday. The I-PAC official told IANS that the NAF was a tribute to Mahatma Gandhi on his 150th birth anniversary year. The NAF is formed to resurrect the conversation around Gandhi’s 18-point Constructive Programme for independent India and use it to reimagine and co-create India’s priorities to formulate an actionable agenda for the present. The youth volunteers of the organisation would now meet the chosen leader in September or October. The agenda would then be taken to the entire nation, before it is adopted as part of the party manifesto in January 2019 for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.

 With inputs from IANS