Narendra Modi's universal appeal remains undented
A survey by Pew Research Centre has concluded that even after two years of being in power, Narendra Modi is viewed favourably by a phenomenal 81 percent of the respondents. Eight out of ten endorsed the government's policy and were satisfied with the state of the economy. The survey also indicated that two out of three were happy with the direction of the country.
Pew Research Centre Survey
Pew Research Centre conducted this survey in the month of May and covered a total of 2,464 respondents across 15 states including the capital, New Delhi. There is a margin of error of up to three points in the poll.
Concerns of Indian citizens
Indians considered issues like crime, the lack of employment opportunities, corruption amongst public officials, terror related incidents, harmony between communities and air pollution to be major issues. Out of these, crime was the top most concern for 82 percent of respondents. However communal ties was a major concern for only 54 percent of the people and moderately important for 22 percent of those surveyed.
How did Narendra Modi fare?
Over 60 percent of the respondents were of the opinion that Narendra Modi was doing a satisfactory job of addressing employment issues and helping the underprivileged section. On issues like terrorism and and corruption, roughly 60 percent approved of Modi's performance. However, on concerns like pollution and communal harmony, only 53 percent of those surveyed were in concurrence with the measures taken by him.
NDA Government vs. UPA Government
The 2016 survey is significantly more positive compared to the assessment of UPA in 2013. When Congress-led UPA was in power, only three out of 10 respondents were satisfied with the economy's direction and a humongous 57% felt that the economy was headed nowhere.
Public mood in 2016 vs. earlier years
Narendra Modi's personal popularity remains intact however rising public anxiety concerning sensitive issues like crime, jobs and corruption need to be addressed by the central government. It was notable that concern about crime and joblessness had returned to the levels observed in 2013 and 2014. On a positive note, Modi's popularity was uniform in rural and urban India and across genders and ages.
Rahul and Sonia Gandhi back in the running?
Interestingly, Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, though much less popular than Modi have regained in the popularity stakes. Sonia Gandhi was viewed favourably by 65% compared to 49% in 2013 and Rahul Gandhi's popularity was up several notches upto 63% compared to 50% from 2013.
