Introduction
On October 1 2020, GovernEye began a survey to identify Lok Sabha MPs across the country who were the most helpful to their constituency during the lockdown. We present below our results.
Objective
The pandemic and the associated lockdown were unprecedented in India and have required us to adapt to the changing situation in real-time. With over six months elapsed, GovernEye felt it was a logical checkpoint to collectively look at what worked and how we can not only take it from here but also be prepared for anything like this in the future. The objective of the survey was to identify lessons we could learn just as much as it was to identify the most helpful Lok Sabha MPs.
Methodology
The first step was to accept nominations from across the country. We created a web page where people from various parliamentary constituencies could nominate their MPs. This nomination process started on Oct 1, 2020 and ended on Oct 15, 2020. We received 34,23,864 nominations (of which 41,304 nominations were deemed invalid/fraudulent) for 512 MPs. Of them, we shortlisted the top 25 MPs based on nominations received. The list of those MPs along with the number of votes they received is provided below in alphabetical order:
Ajmal, Maulana Badruddin
Dhubri, Assam (UIDF)
18,495 votes
Badal, Shri Sukhbir Singh
Ferozpur, Punjab (SAD)
34,115 votes
Birla, Shri Om
Kota, Rajasthan (BJP)
46,288 votes
Chavda, Shri Vinod
Kachchh, Gujarat (BJP)
28,441 votes
Chidambaram, Shri Karti P.
Sivaganga, Tamil Nadu (INC)
22,580 votes
Dr. T. Sumathy (a) Thamizhachi Thangapandian
Chennai South, Tamil Nadu (DMK)
37,335 votes
Firojiya, Shri Anil
Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh (BJP)
42,884 votes
Gadkari, Shri Nitin Jairam
Nagpur, Maharashtra (BJP)
24,395 votes
Gandhi, Shri Rahul
Wayanad, Kerala (INC)
41,004 votes
Godse, Shri Hemant Tukaram
Nashik, Maharashtra (SS)
23,853 votes
Hansdak, Shri Vijay Kumar
Rajmahal, Jharkhand (JMM)
12,728 votes
Kaiser, Choudhary Mehboob Ali
Khagaria, Bihar (LJSP)
13,854 votes
Khaleque, Shri Abdul
Barpeta, Assam (INC)
22,745 votes
Kumar, Shri Vijay
Gaya, Bihar (JDU)
24,996 votes
Kundariya, Shri Mohanbhai Kalyanji
Rajkot, Gujarat (BJP)
15,905 votes
Lalwani, Shri Shankar
Indore, Madhya Pradesh (BJP)
45,550 votes
Lokhande, Shri Sadashiv Kisan
Shirdi, Maharashtra (SS)
12,934 votes
Moitra, Ms. Mahua
Krishnanagar, West Bengal (AITC)
39,407 votes
Nagar, Shri Malook
Bijnor, Uttar Pradesh (BSP)
19,400 votes
Prasad, Shri Ravi Shankar
Patna Sahib, Bihar (BJP)
35,973 votes
Reddy, Shri Adala Prabhakara
Nellore, Andhra Pradesh (YSR Congress Party)
15,695 votes
Shri Syed Imtiaz Jaleel
Aurangabad, Maharashtra (AIMIM)
17,882 votes
Surya, Shri L.S. Tejasvi
Bangalore South, Karnataka (BJP)
52,336 votes
Tharoor, Dr. Shashi
Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala (INC)
57,166 votes
Yadav, Shri Akhilesh
Azamgarh, Uttar Pradesh (SP)
27,361 votes
Note: The names above have been displayed as per the records of the Lok Sabha website. We congratulate the shortlisted MPs.
The second step was to conduct field interviews in the constituencies that were shortlisted. These field interviews were conducted between Oct 17, 2020 and Dec 2, 2020 and involved asking 100 people over a two-day period across various areas in a constituency (to get a random and diverse enough sample) for their thoughts on their MP's efforts during the lockdown. Every positive feedback received one point in favour of the MP.
The third and final step was to collate the data and identify the top 10 MPs based on points received. This exercise was carried out between Dec 4, 2020 and Dec 19, 2020 and included final validation before release. The list of those MPs along with the number of points they received is provided below in the order of their rank:
1. Firojiya, Shri Anil (77 points)
2. Reddy, Shri Adala Prabhakara (74 points)
3. Gandhi, Shri Rahul (70 points)
4. Moitra, Ms. Mahua (68 points)
5. Surya, Shri L.S. Tejasvi (67 points)
6. Godse, Shri Hemant Tukaram (66 points)
7. Badal, Shri Sukhbir Singh (65 points)
8. Lalwani, Shri Shankar (64 points)
9. Dr. T. Sumathy (a) Thamizhachi Thangapandian (63 points)
10. Gadkari, Shri Nitin Jairam (61 points)
The points simply indicate the number of people who responded positively in our survey out of the 100 people we interviewed from a constituency. They're not meant to imply the percentage of people in a constituency who believe their MP was helpful during the lockdown. That number might be higher or lower in each case.
Conclusion
This process helped us identify the MPs who were highly rated by their constituents for their help during the lockdown. Over the next several weeks, we hope to interview these MPs and learn from them how they managed to meet the needs of the people and what we can do as a nation to be better prepared for such a crisis in the future.