Congress leader Siddaramaiah is the most popular choice for the next Karnataka Chief Minister, and incumbent Basavaraj Bommai of the BJP ranks second, reveals "Public Opinion", a special NDTV survey in partnership with Lokniti-Centre for the Study of Developing Societies (CSDS).
The survey seeks to gauge the public mood in Karnataka on a wide range of issues ahead of the May 10 state election and its verdict three days later.
Mr Siddaramaiah, a former chief minister, is slightly more popular among older voters, while Mr Bommai, who is younger, is preferred by younger voters, the poll reveals.
Janata Dal Secular (JDS) leader HD Kumaraswamy is the third most popular chief minister candidate, followed by Congress's DK Shivakumar.
The BJP's BS Yediyurappa, a four-time chief minister who has never completed a term, ranks surprisingly low at number 5.
Mr Yediyurappa, who was Chief Minister until the BJP replaced him with Mr Bommai in 2021 amid corruption allegations, is not contesting the election and has also denied that he is in the running for the top job.
But how important is the chief minister candidate when people vote? Not as much as party or candidate, the NDTV-CSDS survey reveals.
A majority of respondents said they gave more importance to the party (56%) and 38% said they vote for the candidate. Only 4% said they vote according to the chief minister face.
It is voters who support the Congress or JDS who mostly consider party as the biggest factor. BJP voters, however, are divided.
The Congress fares better than the BJP when it comes to voters' perception on key metrics, the survey reveals.
More respondents (59%) saw the BJP as more corrupt than the Congress (35%) and JDS (3%).
Unexpectedly for a party that has campaigned nationwide against dynasty politics, the BJP is rated "more nepotistic" (59%) than the Congress (30%) and JDS (8%).
The ruling party is also seen to be blighted more by factionalism (55%) than the Congress (30%) and JDS (12%).
In a positive for the Congress, more respondents have ranked it the best for Karnataka's development (47% vs BJP's 37% and JDS' 14%) and for maintaining communal harmony (49% vs BJP's 34% and JDS' 14%).
On handling the Karnataka-Maharashtra border row, the BJP and Congress share equal rating (40%) with the JDS placing third (14%).
The NDTV survey also tried to gauge how different castes and communities are likely to vote.
The Vokkaligas are split between the Congress (34%) and JDS (36%) while the Lingayats remain firmly with the BJP (67%). Muslims (59%) are more inclined to vote for the Congress.
In March, the Karnataka government scrapped the 4% backward class quota for Muslims and diverted it to Lingayats -- traditional supporters of the BJP - and Vokkaliggas. Their quotas have been raised to 7% and 6%.
The survey also assesses the anti-incumbency factor. Disapproval of the BJP government is more among the poor, the lower middle class and rural voters, the data shows.
The NDTV-CSDS survey reveals that the Congress is more popular (50%) with poor voters than the BJP (23%). Among affluent voters, however, the BJP (46%) remains more popular than the Congress (31%).
Voters were also asked to rate the public outreach of various parties. The BJP scores slightly more than the Congress and JDS in reaching out to voters, the survey found.
Rahul Gandhi's Bharat Jodo Yatra drew slightly more attention than the BJP's Vikas Sankalp Yatra and the JDS' Pancharatna Ratha Yatra, according to the 'Public Opinion' survey. However, the BJP and JDS registered more participation in their yatras.
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