Lokniti-CSDS in collaboration with Azim Premji University (APU) conducted the first round of a three-round survey-based study to understand the relationship between society and politics between  elections. The survey was conducted in four states - Gujarat, Haryana, Odisha and Karnataka - between November 21 and December 1, 2016 among 7,770 respondents in 21 assembly constituencies in each  of the four states.

The study aims to capture public opinion between elections. It covers various aspects related to delivery of public services, law and order, identities, discrimination and violence, economic  processes and governance and the perception of the state at various levels to which the citizens interact.      The study is an attempt to know whether various social groups get access to better  public services such as water, sanitation, roads, electricity among others, which group does the police protect and which does not, whether the rate of discrimination towards marginal groups have reduced over the period of time and which States do better job in providing public services. The survey in a broader perspective helps to know everyday governance and development in India. 

The first report in the series titled Politics and Society between Elections was released on 4th April 2017 at CSDS, Delhi. The release event was chaired by Prof. Suhas Palshikar, Co-Director, Lokniti. The three panelists who released and spoke on the report were Prof. Niraja Gopal Jayal (Professor, Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi), Prof. Ashutosh Varshney (Professor, Brown University, USA) and Dr. Siddharth Varadarajan (Founding Editor, The Wire). Prof. Siddharth Swaminathan of Azim Premji University presented the main findings of the study during the event.

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Main findings