New Delhi : Over 72 percent of people surveyed in an opinion poll said they were satisfied with the performance of the NDA government with 56 percent stating that Narendra Modi was an effective prime minister who had helped improve India’s image globally.
The survey by the CNN-IBN and IBN 7 news channels said the respondents had shown “strong faith” in the Modi government with 61 percent saying that the National Democratic Alliance government has improved their economic condition while 63 percent said India’s economy had started looking up during the last one year.
A press release said the survey was conducted by Axis MyIndia across 23 states and more than 155 districts with a sample size of 20,00 across all age groups and sections with a 70 to 30 urban-rural spread.
“The survey findings show an overwhelming support for Modi. Over 72 percent of the respondents said that they are satisfied with the performance of the Modi government on account of development, skillful governance and lower prices in the previous year. Fifty-six percent of the sample believes that Narendra Modi is an effective prime minister and has helped improve India’s image globally,” the release said.
A nation snap poll, published by the India Today magazine in its latest issue, had stated that Modi’s popularity as prime minister had dipped since he assumed power in May last year and that of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi had gone up marginally.
It had said that to the question “who should be the prime minister of India”, 33 percent respondents had favoured Modi compared to 57 percent in August last year. The figure for Gandhi was six percent in August last year and 11 percent now.
The CNN-IBN IBN7 release said most respondents in the survey felt that corruption and inflation have either come down or have stagnated at the very least.
“Employment opportunities have gone up as per 62 percent of the respondents,” it said.
On the issue of the relationship between the government and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh – the ideological fountainhead of Bharatiya Janata Party, 32 percent of the respondents felt that there was no interference by RSS in the affairs of the government.
“On the impact of controversial statements such as those relating to ‘ghar wapsi’, approximately 31 percent of the respondents felt that such statements do not dent the image of the government at all whereas approximately 33 percent felt that such statements do have an adverse impact. Overall 43 percent of the respondents felt that those making controversial statement should be controlled,” the survey said.
On the government’s initiatives, the survey said 85 percent respondents endorsed Swachch Bharat as one of the best initiatives and 76 percent supported Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana.
It said initiatives such as Make in India and Digital India also received a positive response with 43 percent and 42 percent support respectively “though there was some ambiguity with regard to the land bill”.
“Respondents also felt that PM Modi has effectively utilized every possible communication tool to reach out to varied audiences. 30 percent stated that radio (Mann Ki Baat) has been used very well while 23 percent endorsed the use of TV, 20 percent gave a thumbs-up to the use of social media platforms while 17 percent and four percent mentioned public rallies and interventions in parliament, respectively as effective tools for communication used by PM,” the release said.