Guwahati: Social media posts recently circulated false claims suggesting that intelligence agencies like the National Investigation Agency (NIA) had conducted surveys indicating a decline in support for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
According to fact checking website Boom, it contacted an official government source who clarified that the NIA does not engage in any form of political surveying.
The misleading claim was also propagated by a member of the Indian National Congress. It purported various findings from these alleged surveys, such as a waning endorsement of Modi’s leadership, a diminishing significance of the Ram Mandir issue, and an increasing opposition from segments of the youth and women.
The archived link to the post can be found here.
The same claim was amplified by several Facebook accounts.
Archived links to the posts are available here, here, and here.
BOOM stated that it consulted a source within the union government, who affirmed that the NIA is not involved in conducting or disseminating political surveys. “NIA does not conduct any political survey,” the official told BOOM, requesting anonymity. Currently, the NIA primarily focuses on counter-terrorism and national security-related investigations, and conducting political surveys is beyond its purview.
Typically, private entities offer services to political parties by providing insights gathered on the ground. For instance, last year, the BJP enlisted the services of two external polling consultancy agencies, one in Chennai and another in Delhi, to conduct a comprehensive survey across all Lok Sabha constituencies nationwide, as reported by The Telegraph.
Although political leaders played down the significance of the survey as part of routine election preparations, they indicated that decisions on seat sharing with allies would follow the election results.
Furthermore, earlier this year, the BJP launched the ‘Jan Man’ online survey on the NaMo app, aiming to gauge public opinion and assess the performance of the ruling party ahead of the scheduled April 2024 Lok Sabha elections. The survey covers aspects such as governance, leadership, and constituents’ views on their local Members of Parliament (MPs).
This story is republished from BOOM as part of the Shakti Collective.