There was a lot of hue and cry against the findings of  the CNN-IBN & CNBC-TV18 ‘State of the Nation Poll’ conducted by ‘CSDS’ in July 2011 which said that only 50% of people in Telangana region support the division of AP.

Now, an independent committee that went into the survey, while expressing some minor concerns in the methodology, found no evidence of any systematic bias either in the questionnaire or in the survey data, as feared by the separate Telangana champions.

According the survey that caused quite a commotion among hardcore separatists, only 50 percent of the people in Telangana want a separate state. An equal number of people are opposed to the idea of bifurcation. In coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema, an overwhelming 90 percent voted for United Andhra. The CNN-IBN & CNBC 18 State of the Nation Poll conducted by the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies (CSDS) clearly and unequivocally revealed that a large majority of the people in the state of Andhra Pradesh stand for unity and integrity of the state.

 The CSDS Poll concludes that there is increased support for United Andhra presently than it was ever. While only 72 percent of the people in Andhra and Rayalaseema supported the cause of United Andhra in May 2009, as many as 90 percent of the people now (July 2011) stand by the unity of the state.

 In Telangana region, while 42 percent of the people voted for separate state in 2009, the number increased slightly to 50 percent in 2011.

 “While the sentiment in favour of separate Telangana state can only be found in the Telangana region and has increased there compared to 2009, it is still not as strong as the overwhelming sentiment against it in the rest of Andhra Pradesh”, concludes the CSDS Poll.

Many separatist activists and TRS leaders at the time questioned the integrity of the survey, and even alleged that the survey was conducted by a psephologist from Andhra region and hence was compromised. Some critics of the findings even complained to the  CSDS against the published results.

Now,an independent review committee assessed the neutrality and accuracy of this study. It found “no evidence of any systematic bias in the drawing of the sample or any noticeable internal inconsistencies in the survey data” (http://www.lokniti.org/telengana-data-review-committee-report.pdf )

The review, while finding three areas of potential concern, however concluded that there was no misrepresentation or distortion in the results, as alleged by the separatists.

The Committee to verify the reliability and validity of the Survey (July 2011) conducted in Andhra Pradesh consisted of Member Pradeep Chhibber, Professor, Department of Political Science, University of California, Berkeley, USA: Chairman K. Srinivasulu, Professor, Department of Political Science, Osmania University, Hyderabad: Member K.C. Suri, Professor, Department of Political Science, University of Hyderabad, Hyderabad.