Prime Minister Narendra Modi is not only the most popular leader among his contemporaries, but he also has the greatest influence among his predecessors in the newly independent India. One in every four (26%) respondents chose Modi as their most favorite prime minister in the latest round of history YouGov-Mint-CPR Millennial Survey Organized to commemorate India completing 75 years of independence.
Jawaharlal Nehru, the first Prime Minister of India, was second with 19% of the votes, and Atal Bihari Vajpayee emerged as the third most preferred choice (16%). This means that both the Prime Ministers of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) occupy two of the top three spots on the list.
The survey asked 10,271 respondents questions in 204 cities and towns.
However, there was a clear partisan lens to the prime minister’s preference. Nearly half of BJP supporters (43%) chose Modi, but that share fell to only 13% of those who do not identify with the BJP. Congress supporters had the least (10%) chance of choosing Modi.
Nehru was chosen by 10% BJP supporters and 30% Congress supporters.
Respondents were asked to choose from a list of all prime ministers who have served at least one full term. The scale tilted in favor of Modi as the largest share (36%) of the respondents are BJP supporters.
The survey was jointly conducted in June and July by global market research firm YouGov, the Indian arm of Mint and Delhi-based think tank Center for Policy Research (CPR). This was the eighth in a series of bi-annual online surveys aimed at examining the aspirations, concerns and attitudes of India’s digital natives.
Top Rated Properties
When asked about Modi’s biggest strengths, the most popular characteristics that respondents chose were his decisive leadership (25%) and his image as a Hindu nationalist (17%). As expected, for BJP supporters, the share of those praising his decisive leadership was over 35%, and his image as a Hindu nationalist got the thumbs up as his best feature by 21%. Modi’s oratory skills got the least votes (8%). However, this should not be read as respondents who dislike Modi’s oratory skills, as respondents can choose only one out of the five given options.
About 22% said that they did not find any good qualities in Modi. The share was even higher (32%) among non-BJP supporters. Even non-BJP supporters rated Modi’s decisive leadership high (18%).
Failure
We also asked the respondents to choose Modi’s biggest weakness. Of the five options we gave, the ones that emerged as the top two were economic indicators, with 40% of respondents choosing them: too focused on large businesses (21%) and taking the middle class lightly (19). %).
One can clearly see that the respondents believe that Modi’s biggest weakness lies in the economic sector.
About 22% don’t think they have any bad qualities, and only 10% think their perceived disregard for the Muslim community is their biggest weakness.
Most likely (27%) BJP supporters feel that Modi has no bad qualities. About 23% of them feel that their disregard for the middle class is their biggest weakness, followed by their focus on big businesses (20%). Respondents who identify with other parties see Modi’s large business focus as his biggest weakness (22%), followed by his emphasis on personal campaigning (18%).
Rate Modi’s regime
According to the survey responses, it appears that the Prime Minister has not been able to fulfill his promises of inclusive governance (“Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas”). Indian party lines agree that Modi has been effective in his work for groups such as Hindus (62% rated it 4 or 5 out of 5), big business (64%), women (50%), and farmers. (45%).
However, there is a sharp division when it comes to the perception of their work for other groups. Only 34% of the respondents rated their work as high for the middle class, 35% for the Muslims and 38% for the poorest sections of the society. On all issues, BJP supporters were more likely to give Modi a higher status.
This assumes significance ahead of the 2024 general election season as it paints a sorry picture of Indians regarding the Modi government’s work across demographic groups.
The author is with the Center for Policy Research (CPR), New Delhi.
This is one of six parts of a data journalism series based on the YouGov-Mint-CPR survey conducted to mark 75 years of India’s independence. read all parts Here,
The methodology for all visits can be found including the survey questionnaire, raw data and latest Here
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