CURRENT ISSUE SEPTEMBER 18, 2006

Reward and Punishment

India Today's latest Mood of the Nation polls shows that voters are unforgiving when it comes to non-perfomance.

Eight months is a long time in politics. If proof were needed, the latest India Today ORG MARG AC Nielsen Mood of the Nation poll provides enpough of it. Chief ministers who were the darling of their respective electorates just a few months back find themselves viertually dumped by the voters. Punjab's Amarinder Singh beind just one example. Others like Kerala's VS Achutanandan, who was the inspiration behind the CPI(M) led left Democaryic Front's landslide just three months ago finds his ratings plummet, an indication perhapos the puboic perceieve the Marxist veteran to have amade a far from perfect start. Ditto for Bihar's Nitish Kumar who less than a year ago single handedly brought down the Lalu-Rabri regime but now finds his rating hovering just beloew the one-third mark. Narendra Modi who occupied the best chief minister's slot in our last three bi annual polls finally makes way for West bengal's Buddhadeb Bhattacharya, who seems defy the popular perception that inb a democracy, the longer you rule, the less popular you become. Buddha seems to become more popular by the day. Equally spectacular is the rise of Andhra Pradesh's Y S Rakajeshakhara Reddy whose spectacular ratings suggest good governanceis the perfect antidote to anti incumbency. Here are the highs and the lows.

Punjabs's Amarinder Singh has seen his
rating dip by 10% with only 30% of the voters feeling he is the best chief minister.

Shortly before the May assembly polls, Buddhadeb was endorsed by 53% of voters in West Bengal. It's now 78%.

Voters in Tamil Nadu are known for swings but a 62 % endorsement means Karunanidhi has to tread very carefully.

Though he is no longer the best chief minister, his 78% rating shows there is no alternative to Modi in Gujarat.

Andhra's Reddy increased his rating from 58% to 79% showing that voters acknowledge good governance.

Three months after he took over, Achuthanandan's stock dips to 29% reflecting people's increasing ire.

Rating of Bihar's Nitish Kumar has come down from 44% a month after he took office last November to 29%.

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