Yogi government report card: 77% UP voters back third term

Lucknow, Oct 17 — With Uttar Pradesh heading towards the 2027 Assembly elections, a new survey has handed Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's government a largely positive report card, with 77.1 per cent of respondents saying they are satisfied with its performance. The Yogi government report card, released as part of News18's UP Mega Survey, rates the administration across law and order, infrastructure, welfare schemes, corruption and employment — and asks which political alliance voters trust to deliver on the state's biggest challenges. According to the Yogi government report card's findings, 53 per cent of respondents said they were "very satisfied" with the government's performance, while 24 per cent said they were "somewhat satisfied". Only 13.5 per cent expressed dissatisfaction, suggesting that the chief minister's personal popularity and the government's governance record remain significant advantages for the BJP as the election approaches. ## Yogi government report card: law and order leads the ratings Law and order emerged as the government's strongest suit in the Yogi government report card, with 74 per cent of respondents approving of the administration's performance on the issue. The finding aligns with the BJP's long-standing pitch that Uttar Pradesh has seen a decisive improvement in public safety since 2017, a claim the chief minister has repeatedly made at public events. Infrastructure came next with 68.6 per cent satisfaction, followed by government welfare schemes at 66.3 per cent. Employment presents a more complicated picture: only 58.3 per cent expressed satisfaction with the government's performance on jobs, even though 62 per cent said the BJP was best suited to create more employment in the state. The Samajwadi Party was considered best suited to create jobs by 27 per cent, followed by the BSP at 6 per cent. Separately, 33 per cent of respondents identified law and order as the most important issue influencing their voting choices, making it the leading electoral concern in the survey — ahead of inflation, cited by 19 per cent. ## CM preference: Yogi ahead of Akhilesh by a wide margin The survey also asked voters to name their preferred chief minister, and the gap was substantial. Yogi Adityanath led with 66.2 per cent support, ahead of Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav at 24.4 per cent. BSP chief Mayawati received 5 per cent, while Chandrashekhar Azad secured 1.8 per cent. These figures in the Yogi government report card underline the scale of the opposition's challenge. On who should form the next government, 65 per cent said they wanted the BJP to return for a third consecutive term, compared with 26 per cent who backed Akhilesh Yadav's SP and 5 per cent who favoured the BSP. A separate finding put support for the BJP's return at 66 per cent, with 30 per cent opposing another term. The survey further found that 66 per cent considered the BJP-led alliance best suited to prevent communal conflict, against 24 per cent for the SP and 5 per cent for the BSP. ## Ram temple row fails to dent the Yogi government report card One closely watched section of the UP Mega Survey examined opinion on the alleged theft of donations collected for the Ram temple — a controversy with potential political significance given the temple's religious importance. The Yogi government report card suggests the row has not become a decisive electoral factor. When asked who should be held responsible, the largest share — 31.2 per cent — blamed temple trust officials, while 20.6 per cent blamed employees and contractors and 13.7 per cent held the state government responsible. Crucially, only 1 per cent identified the donation-theft issue as a key voting concern, indicating the controversy has not translated into an electoral liability for the ruling party. ## What the Yogi government report card means for 2027 Taken together, the Yogi government report card paints a picture of an incumbent that retains broad public approval even as jobs remain a concern. The BJP's challenge ahead of the 2027 Assembly elections will be to convert satisfaction ratings into votes, in a contest where caste equations and young voters could also shape the outcome. For the opposition, the UP Mega Survey numbers underline the scale of the task: closing a 40-point gap in the chief ministerial race for Yogi Adityanath with months to go before polling in the 2027 Assembly elections.