Modi’s popularity at an 'all-time high', says Amit Shah after Pew survey

New Delhi: An American think tank’s survey findings that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s popularity has risen across the country and that he is the most popular figure in Indian politics, will now be part of the BJP’s campaign material in Gujarat.

Citing the survey’s findings, BJP president Amit Shah said the Prime Minister’s popularity has risen “unabated” across the country and people’s satisfaction with the economy is at an “all-time high.” The survey’s findings were also highlighted by other BJP leaders, including Union ministers, on the social media.

The survey by Pew Research Center suggests that Modi remains “by far” the most popular politician and more than eight-in-10 Indians said that the country’s economic conditions are “good” despite the Modi government’s decision to ban high-value bank notes last November.

“The findings of Pew Global research are very significant. After the Modi government came to power, people’s trust in the government, democracy and confidence that the nation is in the right direction has gone up drastically,” Shah said in a series of tweets.

“PM @narendramodi’s popularity rises unabated across the length & breadth of the country and across demographic groups. His handling of various issues also receive a thumbs up from people,” Shah said.

The findings have put Modi’s popularity at 88 per cent, which was 30 points ahead of Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi (58 per cent), 31 points ahead of Congress president Sonia Gandhi (57 per cent) and 49 points ahead of Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal (39 per cent).

Overall, seven-in-10 Indians were “satisfied” with the way things were going in the country and the positive assessment of India’s direction had nearly doubled since 2014, the survey said. The survey was conducted among 2,464 respondents in India from February 21 to March 10 this year.  

“The survey was taken before the recent slow down,” said Bruce Stokes, Pew’s director of global economic attitudes and one of the report’s authors, in an email. “How public sentiment has changed in the last few months is not represented by this data,” he said.

Later, in a statement, Shah said under Modi’s leadership India will continue to achieve laurels and walk on the development path to become a vishwaguru (world leader). He also said that policy decisions taken by the Modi government since 2014 have benefitted the comman man.

The reason why the BJP has been winning most of the elections since 2014 is that people have faith in Modi’s leadership, he added. Shah said that nearly 106 schemes were initiated by the Modi government to benefit the poor, youth, dalits, women, the underpriviledged and farmers.

According to the survey’s findings, Modi’s popularity is relatively unchanged in the north, has risen in the west and the south and is down slightly in the east. Kerala and Assam were not included in the survey.

Referring to the survey’s findings, Union law and justice minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said that it showed that Modi and his governance has gained popularity in all corners of the country.

The Pew Research Center claims to be a non-partisan American think tank based in Washington, DC It provides information on social issues, public opinion and demographic trends shaping the US and the world.