A recent survey conducted by India Today magazine has revealed that while Indian voters are becoming increasingly dissatisfied with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government due to rising inflation and unemployment, Modi is still expected to comfortably win a third term in next year’s elections due to his personal popularity. The survey also indicated that the popularity of main opposition leader Rahul Gandhi has risen, and a new opposition alliance called “INDIA,” consisting of 26 parties, is anticipated to perform well.
The survey highlighted that despite the growing dissatisfaction, Modi is leading Gandhi by a significant 36-point margin as the candidate best-suited to become India’s next prime minister. According to the survey, if elections were held now, Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) would secure 287 seats in the 542-member lower house of parliament.
Although national elections are scheduled for May 2024, several state polls are expected to take place before then. Modi first came to power in 2014, promising change and has since consolidated his position by focusing on welfare economics, infrastructure development, and endorsing Hindu nationalism.
However, critics argue that the government has managed to dominate mainstream newspapers, television news channels, and social media platforms, often silencing dissenting voices. India is currently experiencing a retail inflation rate of 7.44%, the highest in 15 months, driven by soaring food prices which have reached 11.5%.
Despite being the world’s fastest-growing large economy, India faces a significant challenge concerning its unemployment rate, which has remained steady at 8% in recent months. Economists suggest that India needs to generate 70 million new jobs within the next decade, but only 24 million are projected to be created.
The India Today survey, conducted semi-annually, indicated that 59% of the more than 160,000 individuals polled between July and August expressed satisfaction with Modi’s government, a decline from the 67% recorded in the previous survey. Similarly, 63% believed that Modi’s performance as prime minister was good, a decrease from the 72% figure in January. Furthermore, 22% deemed his performance as poor, up from 16% earlier this year.
Psephologist Yashwant Deshmukh, from the C-Voter agency which conducted the India Today poll, commented that dissatisfaction tends to rise when inflation increases. Nevertheless, Deshmukh noted that despite the negative factors, Modi’s personal popularity remains strong after nearly a decade in power. Voters trust his efforts, and the adverse news has not significantly impacted his numbers.
The survey also indicated a boost for Congress party leader Rahul Gandhi. With 32% of respondents naming him as the best-suited individual to revive the party’s fortunes, Gandhi received his highest approval rating in four years. Additionally, 24% backed Gandhi as the most suitable opposition leader to become prime minister, up from 13% in January when he was the third choice. Gandhi had stepped down as Congress president following the party’s poor performance in the 2019 elections but has managed to revitalize his image through a five-month-long nationwide “unify India march” initiated in September last year.
The INDIA alliance, led by Congress, consists of influential regional parties with strong bases in the south and east of India, where the BJP holds less influence.
(Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore)
Credit: The Star : News Feed
