The protest by wrestlers raising the sexual harassment allegations against sidelined Wrestling Federation of India chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, seems to be gaining sympathy among the general public.
According to a poll conducted by CVoter, 66.5 percent of the people surveyed said they believe that the protesting wrestlers are telling the truth. Only 17.3 percent said that they believed Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh.
The survey further divides the respondents based on voting preference and it turns out that 54.1 percent NDA voters also believe the wrestlers over Singh, who is a BJP MP.
There is a significant degree of dissatisfaction with the Delhi Police's handling of the sexual harassment probe so far.
40.1 percent respondents said that they are 'completely dissatisfied' with the action taken by the Delhi police so far, while 18.6 percent said they are 'somewhat dissatisfied'.
This means that about 59 percent respondents are dissatisfied overall. Only 16.4 percent respondents said they are completely satisfied and 13.2 percent said they are somewhat satisfied. This totals to a little less than 30 percent.
Who is to Blame?
Opinion is divided on this. While 36.6 percent respondents said that the 'slow pace of police investigation' is to blame for the lack of a solution on the issue, 32 percent respondents said that the Union Sports Ministry and Sports Minister are to blame for this.
Significantly, even NDA voters blame the police or the sports ministry. 34.5 percent people who identified as NDA voters blamed the police while 27 percent blamed the sports minister and ministry.
Both the sports ministry and the police are under the control of the Narendra Modi-led NDA government at the centre.
The Demand for Brij Bhushan's Arrest
The division between NDA voters and Opposition voters is slightly more sharp on the question of Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh's arrest.
43.3 percent NDA voters say that Brij Bhushan should be arrested even before the investigation is completed' while 36.6 percent among them say that he shouldn't be arrested as of now.
Among Opposition voters, the figure is 64.1 percent favouring the arrest and 20.5 opposing it presently. The figure for all the respondents put together is 55.8 percent in favour and 26.8 percent against.
Will this Harm BJP?
46.7 percent of all the respondents said that the controversy will 'harm the BJP very much', 17.6 percent said that it will harm the party 'to some extent' while 22.5 said it will not cause any harm at all.
NDA supporters are divided on this - 33.2 percent among them said that the controversy will harm the BJP very much and 33.5 percent said it won't harm the party.
'PM Modi Should Intervene'
Though different in degrees, NDA supporters, Opposition supporters and overall respondents felt that PM Modi should intervene in this dispute. 68.3 percent respondents overall, 75.5 Opposition voters and 57.5 NDA voters held this belief.
Is it Right for Wrestlers to Take Help from Political Parties and Khaps?
There is a divide between NDA and Opposition voters on this. 64.2 percent Opposition voters support wrestlers taking the help of Khaps while 54.3 percent said it's fine for them to take the support of political parties.
Among NDA voters 42 percent support taking the support of Khaps while 44.2 percent are opposed to it. As many as 50.5 percent NDA voters say that it is wrong for wrestlers to take the help of political parties while 32 percent said that it is right.
The snap poll was conducted by CVoter across the country with a sample size of 1816.
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