Poll College predicts DMDK alternative to Dravidian parties

Chennai, Dec 20 (UNI) In a shot in the arm for actor-politician Vijayakanth, an opinion poll has found that his one-year-old Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam (DMDK) will emerge as an alternative to the DMK and AIADMK in Tamil Nadu.

The poll was conducted by the School of Media Studies (SMS) of Loyola College here and the People Research Centre on the public valuation and opinion on the performance of six-month-old DMK Government and other political parties.

As per the findings, 63.5 per cent of respondents considered the DMDK as an alternative to DMK and AIADMK. However, 9.5 per cent believed it could emerge as a strong force after the two Dravidian parties but not as an alternative to them.

A majority of respondents (60.1 per cent) also felt that the DMDK could grow only if it did not join any alliance.

Briefing the media on the survey, SMS Director S Rajanayagam said student-researchers surveyed 2,943 people in 29 districts except Nilgiris.

The survey was based on the method of socio-psychological approach incorporating quantitative and qualitative analysis drafted by him.

In a good news for the ruling DMK, the survey predicted that in the backdrop of six months of the DMK rule, 39.7 per cent of respondents said they would vote for the party again.

The AIADMK and the DMDK came second and third with 23.9 per cent and 21.4 per cent respectively in the respondents choice.

Mr Rajanayagam said when compared to the last Assembly election results, the DMK alliance had marginally increased its vote-share to 48 per cent, while the AIADMK had marginally lost its share to the DMDK.

The survey also found that about 45.2 per cent of respondents felt that the DMK had been providing good governance, while 42.2 per cent were against the AIADMK's role as opposition.

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