At the 2-year mark, approval rating of AAP Delhi Government 2.0 declines with only 1 in 3 Delhiites rating 2 year performance as good or higher

February 16, 2022, New Delhi: Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal-led Delhi Government completes 2 years of its rule for the second term on February 16th, 2022. The last 2 years for leaders of the Aam Aadmi Party-ruled Delhi Government were marked by two waves of the COVID-19 outbreak and subsequent pandemic followed by lockdowns. The situation in the state became worse during the 2nd wave of the pandemic, though the Delhi Government announced a lockdown on April 19th, 2021, to minimise the spread of COVID. Residents of Delhi reported acute shortages in hospital beds, ventilators, oxygen and COVID drugs in the capital. Media reports were rife with reports of death caused by a lack of medical attention or supplies. A survey conducted at the time by LocalCircles indicated that the state ranked at the 15th position, with only 20% of residents rating the State Government’s handling of COVID 2nd wave as effective. However, from the initial phase of the 3rd wave of the pandemic, the State Government was prepared in handling the daily cases up to 300,000, as well as ramped-up testing and availability of oxygen cylinders and concentrators across hospitals.

On the other hand, pollution in the city continues to deteriorate significantly despite efforts and the number of bad air days crossed 45 this winter season. Many residents of Delhi, especially those who were asthmatic or had recovered from COVID faced an even more difficult time breathing. Pollution-related ailments, including cough, congestion, burning eyes impacted many, with 44% of residents of Delhi-NCR in a LocalCircles survey admitted that they or their family member visited a doctor or hospital for the treatment.

Every year on the anniversary of the Delhi Government’s coming to power, LocalCircles is the only platform that goes back to the residents of Delhi asking them to rate the State Government’s performance. This allows both the broader citizenry and the Government to understand where things stand and what needs to be worked upon. As Arvind Kejriwal’s AAP Government-led State Government of Delhi completes 2 years on February 16th, 2022, LocalCircles has conducted its annual survey to gauge how residents rate the performance of the AAP Delhi Government 2.0 in critical areas like COVID handling, air quality and corruption and from an overall governance standpoint. The survey received more than 37,500 responses from people residing across all 11 districts of Delhi. 67% of the respondents were men while 33% were women.

2 years of AAP Government 2.0: Only 32% Delhiites rate Delhi Government’s handling of COVID in the last 2 years as good; 51% rate it poor or worse

The Delhi Government was heavily criticised for the management of COVID during the 2nd wave of the pandemic. Hospitals and medical staff were overburdened, and the capital faced acute shortage of beds and oxygen while caregivers were running pillar to post looking for COVID medicines and many fell victim to the flourishing black-marketing. From the initial phase of the 3rd wave of the pandemic, the State Government, however, seemed better prepared in handling the daily cases up to 300,000, as well as ramped-up testing and availability of oxygen cylinders and concentrators across hospitals. The approach during the 3rd wave was far more conservative and cautious as compared to that during the 2nd wave.

The first question asked citizens to rate the Delhi Government’s handling of COVID in the last 2 years (including 1st, 2nd and 3rd wave). In response, 12% said “Excellent,” 10% said “Very good” and 10% said “Good.” However, 25% of citizens rated it “Poor”, 26% rated it “Very poor” and 15% said “Average” while 2% did not have an opinion. On an aggregate basis, only 32% of Delhiites rate Delhi Government’s handling of COVID in the last 2 years as good; 51% rate it poor or worse. This question received 9,258 responses.

Percentage of Delhiites who rated COVID handling by Delhi Government as good declined from 40% to 32% in the last 1 year

A similar survey conducted in February 2021 had 40% of Delhiites suggesting that the COVID handling by the Delhi Government as good. This percentage has declined to 32% this year primarily on account of the poor handling of the 2nd COVID wave.

2 years of AAP Government 2.0: Only 21% Delhiites rate Delhi Government’s efforts to improve air quality in the last 2 years as good; 51% rate it poor or worse

Delhi witnesses extreme air pollution in November, especially during and post-Diwali due to celebrations as well as stubble burning in North India. Citizens complain of respiratory issues with hospitals experiencing a higher rate of incoming patients affected by pollution. While Delhi Government has historically attributed high air pollution levels to farm stubble burning in Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, this time Delhi experienced over 45 bad air days way past the stubble burning period into early January. Experts have attributed the high winter pollution levels to vehicular pollution, pollution caused due to garbage burning and other local reasons, unrelated to the neighbouring states.

The next question asked citizens to rate Delhi Government’s efforts in particular in the last 2 years to improve air quality in Delhi. In response, 8% said “Excellent,” 10% said “Very good” and 3% said “Good.” However, 12% of citizens rated it “Poor,” 39% rated it “Very poor” and 25% said “Average” while 3% did not have an opinion. On an aggregate basis, only 21% of Delhiites rate Delhi Government’s efforts to improve air quality in the last 2 years as good; 51% rate it poor or worse. This question in the survey received 9,044 responses.

Percentage of Delhiites who rated efforts of Delhi Government to improve air quality as good stayed low; majority continue to rate the efforts poorly

A similar survey conducted in February 2021 had 19% of Delhiites rating efforts of the Delhi Government to improve air quality as good. This percentage increased marginally to 21% this year. However, the majority of residents continue to rate the efforts to improve air quality poorly as they experience a high number of severe air quality days with pollution driven by local reasons.

2 years of AAP Government 2.0: Only 31% Delhiites rate Delhi Government’s efforts to reduce corruption in the last 2 years as good; 45% rate them poor or worse

The AAP Government during their initial term used the anti-corruption plank, which brought them into power. Even when pitching to voters for re-election in 2020, one of the key pillars of the Government was transparency and good governance. While some moves of the Government, like doorstep delivery of services and moving pension schemes online are good and will reduce corruption, not much else has been achieved in the first two years of their 2nd term, because of the pandemic. However, if the Government wants, despite the pandemic a lot can be done by eliminating human interfaces at Delhi government offices that are citizen-facing.

The next question asked citizens to rate Delhi Government’s performance in the last 2 years on the efforts to reduce corruption. In response, 14% said “Excellent,” 6% said “Very good” and 11% said “Good.” However, 21% of citizens rated it “Poor,” 24% rated it “Very poor” and 21% said “Average” while 3% did not have an opinion. On an aggregate basis, only 31% of Delhiites rate Delhi Government’s effort to reduce corruption in the last 2 years as good; 45% rate it poor or worse. This question in the survey received 9,548 responses.

Percentage of Delhiites who rate efforts of Delhi Government to reduce corruption as good declined from 38% to 31% in the last 1 year

A similar survey conducted in February 2021 had 38% of Delhiites rating efforts of the Delhi Government to reduce corruption as good. This percentage declined to 31% this year. Once again during the 2nd wave, many families became victims of black marketing and corruption. Many instances were reported where people paid bribes to get a hospital bed, oxygen supplies, medicines and even to get the status of their patient. According to people, it is still extremely common to get access to free surgeries in Delhi Government hospitals after paying a bribe to the facilitators. Delhi Government’s health department needs to act.

2 years of AAP Government 2.0: Only 33% Delhiites rate 2 years performance of Delhi Government as good or higher; 54% rate it poor

The final question asked residents of Delhi, “Overall, how do you rate 2 years of performance of Delhi Government considering all areas like COVID management, health, water, power, anti-corruption, air quality, school education, public welfare?” In response, 16% said “Excellent”, 7% said “Very Good”, 10% said “Good”, and 13% said “Average”. Breaking down the poll, 19% said “Poor”, and 35% said “Extremely poor”. On an aggregate basis, only 33% of Delhiites rate 2 years performance of the Delhi Government as good or higher while 54% rate it poor. This question received 9,973 responses.

Percentage of Delhiites who rate the performance of Delhi Government as good or higher declined in the last year from 40% to 33%

A similar survey conducted in February 2021 had 40% of Delhiites rating the overall performance of Delhi Government as good. This percentage declined to 33% this year, largely on the account of handling of 2nd COVID wave by the Delhi Government.

In summary, only 1 in 3 Delhiites rate 2 years performance of AAP Government in Delhi as good or higher. The percentage of Delhiites who rate the performance of Delhi Government as good or higher declined, from 40% in February 2021 to 33% in 2022. In the area of handling the COVID situation in the state, only 32% of Delhiites rate Delhi Government’s handling as good in the last 2 years, which is a decline from 40% as per the survey conducted during this time in 2021, which can be largely attributed to the 2nd COVID wave. On the area of improvement of air quality in the state, only 21% of Delhi residents rated Delhi Government’s efforts to improve air quality in the last 2 years as good while the majority continue to rate the efforts poorly. While state coordination is required for handling stubble burning, Delhi cannot afford to have 45 bad air quality days each winter and the Government has to act to address every single local contributor of air pollution in the city. On the corruption front, once again, the percentage of Delhiites who rated efforts of Delhi Government to reduce corruption as good declined from 38% in February 2021 to 31% in 2022. All in all, the Delhi Government must do all possible in the coming 3 years to win the confidence of the residents of Delhi, which was largely impacted during the 2nd COVID wave. The handling of the 3rd wave was done well but Omicron was mild, at least in the short term. The next variant may not be and hence preparation and action will be key.