New Delhi, Indian families seem to be trapped in a vicious cycle of rising expenses even as incomes have either gone down or remained stagnant since the last one year, as per an IANS-CVoter survey.

This was revealed during an exclusive survey conducted by CVoter on behalf of IANS in the four states -- Assam, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu and Kerala -- and the Union Territory of Puducherry, where Assembly elections were held in 2021.
People were asked a series of questions on a range of issues that reflected theory opinion on social, political and economic challenges facing the country.

While the state governments and the chief ministers scored quite well on performance ratings, ordinary voters are convinced the financial condition of their families has deteriorated since the elections were held in 2021.

In Assam, close to 51 per cent of the respondents said that family expenses had gone up while incomes had actually gone down. Another 19 per cent reckoned that while family incomes had remained stagnant, expenses had gone up.

The story was not very different in the other states that went to the polls in 2021. In West Bengal that neighbours Assam, 46.5 per cent of the respondents said that family incomes had gone down in the last one year while expenses had gone up. Another 31.5 per cent claimed family incomes had remained stagnant while expenses had gone up.

Voters down south shared similar sentiments. In Kerala, 39 per cent of the respondents said their personal income had gone down while family expenses had gone up, while 34 per cent of the respondents claimed incomes had remained stagnant while expenses had gone up.

In Tamil Nadu, 39 per cent of the respondents stated that expenses had gone up while personal income had gone down. Another 35 per cent said that personal income remained stagnant while family expenses had gone up.