It is the poor that faced the impact of the shock withdrawal of the high-value currencies, but the discontent is not limited to that class alone.
In fact, as the survey shows, it is the vocal middle class that is most agitated in the aftermath of the sudden move. Nearly 48 per cent of respondents from all categories in all the surveyed states believe that it is the middle class which was the most affected of the lot.
Such is the unanimity that even in States such as Telangana and Kerala, where 39 and 37 per cent said poor were the worst off, the middle class found more sympathy among the respondents — 43 and 48 per cent respectively.
In Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, meanwhile, over a half said it was the ones in the middle class who are bearing the brunt of the move.
Among the respondents, those from Karnataka and Odisha stand out — a majority in these states (both around 40 per cent) has gone the other way, stating that it was the rich who were affected the most. The middle class comes second in these states.
In all, over 29 per cent said the poor are the worst hit, but there still are over one-fifth of the respondents who believe the rich are the most affected, just as claimed by the government while unveiling the measure.
With inputs from Akram Mohammed and Kiran Parashar K M in Bengaluru, Rajesh Abraham in Kochi, Siba Mohanty in Bhubaneswar, Ranjitha Gunasekaran in Hyderabad and P S Dileep in Vijayawada.