Pew survey on the prime minister's birthday on Thursday also gives BJP an edge over Congress in rural areas
On his birthday there was a gift in numbers. Prime minister Narendra Modi's favourability ratings have jumped to 87 per cent, according to a latest Pew survey released on Thursday.
The public satisfaction with India’s direction has also nearly doubled and pride in the country is up compared with findings from a Pew Research Center survey conducted in December 2013 and January 2014.
Almost three-quarters of the public now think economic conditions are good. And about two-thirds have a very favorable view of current Prime Minister Narendra Modi. This high level of approval is two to three times that for other leading Indian politicians, according to a new 2015 Pew Research Center survey.
The survey also shows that Indian awareness has increased and are candid. Despite the pride, Indians believe the country still faces myriad challenges.
More than eight-in-ten say crime, jobs, inflation and corruption are very big problems. Concern about air pollution is up 22 points in just the past year, complaints about poor-quality schools are up 20 points and worry about health care is up 15 points. And Indians see the world as a challenging place. Nearly three-quarters say they are very concerned about global climate change. A similar proportion say neighboring Pakistan poses a very serious threat to India.
On Modi it says through his policies and governance, Modi has not only increased Indians' pride in the country, his favourability ratings have jumped to 87 per cent and is being supported even from traditional Congress base. The survey was conducted among 2,452 respondents in India from April 6 to May 19, 2015.
Modi has also succeeded in winning over rural Indians, both for his party and himself. The BJP is now slightly more popular in the Indian countryside than in its cities. The party’s favorability now exceeds that of Congress in urban areas by 31 points (83% for BJP, 52% for Congress) and in rural India by 25 points (89% for BJP, 64% for Congress). Modi is more popular than presumptive Congress party leader Rahul Gandhi in both rural areas by 23 points (Modi 89%, Gandhi 66%) and in cities by 31 points (Modi 84%, Gandhi 53%).
"The Modi phenomenon transcends India's traditionally partisan politics," Pew said in a statement, adding that on most of the challenges facing the nation, the prime minister and his party enjoy support from both the BJP faithfuls and followers of the opposition Congress.
Moreover, Modi and the BJP now have greater backing than Congress in rural areas, traditionally a Congress stronghold, according to the survey.
Roughly six in ten or more self-identified Congress supporters approve of Modi's handling of a range of issues: access to clean toilets (66 per cent), unemployment (62 per cent), helping the poor (61 per cent) and inflation (61 per cent).
And majorities of Congress backers approve of the prime minister's efforts against terrorism (56 per cent) and corruption (56 per cent), the survey said.
