Delhi Pollution to be a significant decision factor in next election: Survey

New Delhi, More than eight in 10 residents of Delhi said the current pollution problem in the city is likely to influence their decision to vote in the upcoming Delhi Assembly polls, a new survey said on Friday.

Millennials and GenZ are more likely to say this as compared to GenX respondents, said the survey by YouGov, an Internet-based market research and data analytics firm.

Furthermore, when it comes to solving the air pollution problem, majority (61 per cent) said both the central and state government should be responsible for this.

While one in six said the central government should look into this and almost as many feel it's the state government's concern.

Delhi's air pollution has been making international headlines and while India endeavours to become a global super power, the state of air pollution in the national capital is ticking all the wrong boxes for global tourists, investors and international perception towards the country.

On Friday, the air pollution emergency aggravated with the air quality index (AQI) spiking sharply to 528.

With a PM 10 count of 583 and PM 2.5 count of 378, the air emergency has deteriorated sharply since Thursday. The pollution control authorities on Wednesday decided to shut down schools for two days after PM 2.5 levels stayed above 300 for two days running.

According to the study, after environment, unemployment, education and women rights and safety are other issues relevant to people.

While education is in the top three issues for everyone, the GenZ respondents seem to consider it more important than the other age groups.

On the other hand, affordable basic services are more important to the older respondents as compared to the younger ones.

The younger generation seems to be more trusting of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) to resolve most of their issues, while older respondents have more faith in the Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) for handling their problems, said the study.

The findings are based on responses from 750 residents in Delhi in the month of November. Data is representative of the adult online population in the state, YouGov said.