Amid Covid crisis, Modi’s popularity rating drops to a new low for first time in 7 years: Report

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s popularity ratings fell to a new low amid the coronavirus pandemic, according to surveys by an Indian and an American agency, reported Reuters.

The prime minister assumed office in 2014 and was re-elected in 2019 – both times with a huge mandate. In 2019, the Bharatiya Janata Party won the General Elections, securing 303 seats out of 542 on its own, and capturing 37% of the votes. The Congress, the main Opposition party, won just 52 seats with a 19.5% vote share.

According to Indian agency CVoter, only 37% of respondents said they were “very much satisfied” with Modi’s governance. This was a huge drop from the 65% recorded in 2020, according to Reuters.

The Indian prime minister’s overall popularity this week stood at 63% and those disapproving of Modi was at 31%, according to the United States-based agency Morning Consult, which tracks several world leaders. The biggest drop in the prime minister’s popularity ratings occurred in April, when his net approval fell by 22 points. The American agency began tracking Modi’s popularity in August 2019.

Therefore, based on the data from the two surveys, this was the first time in seven years that the number of respondents voicing displeasure with the Modi administration’s…

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