PM Narendra Modi’s popularity among urban Indians improved since his meeting with US Prez Joe Biden, finds survey

US President Joe Biden meets with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington on Sep 24. (Image: Reuters)

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s approval rating among urban Indians has improved since August, a survey released on October 28 said.

The popularity has improved from 53 percent in the beginning of August to 58 percent in October, says the findings by YouGov, an international Internet-based market research and data analytics firm.

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The improvement in the rating since August corresponds to the waning impact of the second wave of COVID-19. However, it peaks in early October, highlighting the positive impact of his recent US visit on his perception among urban Indians, it said.

PM Modi held his first bilateral meeting with US president Joe Biden on September 24.

The survey said the approval for PM Modi is the highest among residents of North India- at 63 percent while the disapproval is the highest among South Indians at 36 percent.

“Public perception on the country’s direction has also improved slightly during this period; from 53 percent saying things in this country are headed in the right direction in early August to 59 percent saying this now (October 18),” it said.

The YouGov findings are based on responses collected of 5,095 urban Indian adults between August and October 2021.

Unemployment, women’s safety and corruption are considered as the top three issues faced by the country. While unemployment is a bigger concern in East and North East India (at 45 percent), women’s safety is believed to be a more dominant issue in South India (at 37 percent).

Unemployment rate worsened in the week ended October 10, latest data from private think tank Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) showed.

Two-thirds of urban Indians (67 percent) think the government is handling the issue of unemployment very or somewhat poorly. Similarly, the proportions for those who rate the government’s handling of the issues of corruption and women’s safety poorly are 62 percent and 55 percent, respectively.

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“Even though a majority thinks the government’s performance in key concerning areas is not satisfactory, they approve of the way the Prime Minister is handling his job and generally think the country is headed in the right direction,” the survey said.