Modi still riding high. On the NDA government's biggest failure, 25 per cent of respondents feel it was the price rise, while 17 per cent think it is unemployment.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is projected to win 284 seats, while the Congress may bag 68 and others 191 seats if Lok Sabha elections are to be held today, the India Today-CVoter Mood of the Nation poll survey found. The next general elections are expected to be held early next year.
The survey also found that Prime Minister Narendra Modi still remains the most popular leader in the country, 72 per cent of the respondents were satisfied with the prime minister’s performance. Modi’s staunch critic and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, who leading Kanyakumari-to-Kashmir Bharat Jodo Yatra, found few takers for his 3500-km-long journey.
The survey found that 37 per cent of respondents believed that the Bharat Jodo Yatra created a buzz, but would not help the Congress to return to power at the Centre.
India Today said a total of 1,40,917 respondents were considered for the survey.
Here are key takeaways from the survey:
> 67 per cent of the respondents said Modi’s performance was satisfactory in January 2023, an increase of 11 per cent from August 2022.
> From 37 per cent in August 2022 to 18 per cent now, the survey found a dip in people “dissatisfied” with the NDA government.
> The survey showed that 20 per cent of the respondents believed the NDA’s biggest achievement was the handling of the Covid-19 pandemic, while 14 per cent thought it was the revocation of Article 370.
> 12 per cent of those surveyed said that the construction of Ram Mandir in Ayodhya was the biggest achievement of the present government.
> On the NDA government’s biggest failure, 25 per cent of the respondents said it was price rise, while 17 per cent think it is unemployment.
> The survey revealed that 29 per cent of those who were sampled said the Bharat Jodo Yatra is a great exercise for mass connect. But 13 per cent thought of it as yet another ‘re-branding’ exercise for Rahul Gandhi.
> The poll also found that 26 per cent of respondents believed that Rahul Gandhi was best suited to revive the Congress, while 17 per cent favoured Sachin Pilot for the role.
Mood of the Nation poll also predicts significant gains for the UPA, but people still don’t believe Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra can win polls for Congress.
In his ninth year as prime minister of India, PM Narendra Modi’s popularity is only soaring, as the India Today-CVoter Mood of the Nation survey has shown.
The poll found that the Modi government’s approval ratings have gone up from 56 per cent to 67 per cent. Only 18 per cent of people are dissatisfied with the government, compared to 32 per cent in August last year.
A total of 72 per cent of the respondents were satisfied with the prime minister’s performance. The poll, which is done twice every year by the India Today group, predicted that were the Lok Sabha elections to be held today, the NDA would win 298 seats and the UPA would win 153 seats. The BJP alone was projected to win 284 seats.
As a leader of the opposition grouping, Gandhi lost out to Arvind Kejriwal (preference of 24 per cent respondents) and Mamata Banerjee (preference of 20 per cent respondents). Only 13 per cent respondents said Rahul is best suited to lead the opposition.
Pandemic management
The survey found that one in five Indians believe that management of the Covid pandemic was the greatest achievement of the Narendra Modi government.
Meanwhile, 14 per cent respondents thought it was the revocation of Article 370. A close 12 per cent ranked the building of Ayodhya’s Ram Mandir as the biggest achievement. When asked about the failures of the government, 25 per cent of the respondents said it was price hike, while 17 per cent pointed toward the inability to generate employment.
A significant proportion (69 per cent) of the respondents felt that the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) should be applied across the country. Only 19 per cent felt otherwise. There was also significant support for the ban on wearing hijab, with 57 per cent respondents in favour of a ban on religious clothing in schools and colleges. Only 26% of people rejected the idea.
Even as the tussle continues between the government and the judiciary over how judges should be appointed, 38 per cent respondents felt that the current collegium system should continue. Another 31 per cent said that both the executive and judges should jointly appoint judges. Just 19 per cent of respondents believed that only the executive should take the call.
Courtesy Hindustan Times/Theprint