New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi is the most popular leader in India, according to the US-based Pew Research Centre.
Nearly nine-in-ten Indians hold a favorable opinion of Modi, comparable to their view of him in 2015, after a year in office. Roughly seven-in-ten say they have a very favorable view of the prime minister, again similar to public views in 2015.
Modi’s popularity is not limited to the Northern belt as at least nine-in-ten Indians in the southern states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Telangana and in the western states of Maharashtra, Gujarat and Chhattisgarh hold a favorable view of the prime minister. The same is true for more than eight-in-ten in the eastern states of Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha and West Bengal and the northern states of Delhi, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh.
Modi remains by far the most popular national figure in Indian politics tested in the survey. His favorable rating is 31 percentage points higher than that of Sonia Gandhi, the leader of the Congress party, and is 30 points more than that for Rahul Gandhi, who led the Congress ticket in the last Lok Sabha election.
The prime minister’s growing popularity can in part be traced to public satisfaction with his handling of domestic issues and international issues. At least seven-in-ten Indians approve of how he has helped the poor and handled unemployment, terrorism, and corruption. Approval in these four areas is up 10 points or more since 2016, according to the survey.
People see a strong leader in him who can provide stability to the country. India’s handling of Doklam crisis has also sent a strong signal to the Chinese Republic and the West.
The Indian public believes the national government is doing the right thing for the country. More than eight-in-ten (85 percent) voice trust in the national government, including 39 percent who express a lot of trust. BJP supporters (90 percent) are more trusting of the government than Congress backers (76 percent).
The public is also quite satisfied (79 percent) with the way their democracy is currently working. This includes 33 percent who are very satisfied. Again, this is a partisan issue. BJP supporters (84 percent) are significantly more satisfied with Indian democracy than are Congress backers (65 percent).
Modi is very popular among men and women and among adults in both rural and urban areas. Young Indians, those ages 18 to 29, show slightly greater intensity of support than their elders, ages 50 and older. Perhaps not surprisingly, BJP supporters are more intense in their backing for their leader than are Congress party adherents. Almost everyone has an opinion about their prime minister; a scant 2 percent expressed no view.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi became prime minister in 2014 in the wake of his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) winning the Lok Sabha elections, the first time a single party achieved a majority in India’s lower house since 1984.
