New Delhi, Sep 9 (IANS): An exclusive nationwide survey conducted by CVoter reveals that a majority of the respondents want Bharat to be the name of the country.

The survey had a sample size of 3,350.

In contrast, less than one out of every 10 respondents thinks that India should be the name of the country.

Controversy over the issue was first sparked when the President of India used the term Bharat in an invitation sent for a banquet and dinner to mark the G20 Summit being organised in Delhi.

Traditionally, such invitations have used the term India.

Opposition parties which are part of the new INDIA bloc strongly criticised the ruling NDA regime for indulging in such acts to deviate attention from serious issues and also because it is allegedly rattled by growing opposition unity.

More controversy was triggered when the official itinerary of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on a visit to Indonesia for an ASEAN meet mentioned him as the Prime Minister of Bharat.

While 40 per cent of the respondents who identify themselves as supporters of the INDIA bloc support the idea of the country being called Bharat, two-third of NDA supporters share the same viewpoint.

Interestingly, nearly four out of every 10 respondents are of the opinion that both India and Bharat should be retained as interchangeable names for the country.

The Constitution refers to the country as “India, that is Bharat...”

Many countries in Asia and Africa have rested back to their old and traditional names by discarding the names given by colonial powers in the 19th and 20th century.