New Delhi: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s response to the country’s surging coronavirus epidemic may help him walk away unscathed from a host of political and economic problems that hounded his government just months ago.
His approval rating on April 21 was 83%, up from 76% on January 7, according to Morning Consult, a U.S.-based survey and research firm. A separate survey, the IANS-CVoter Covid-19 tracker also showed that trust in his leadership jumped to 93.5% as of April 21 from 76.8% on March 25.
In early March, just as the number of people with Covid-19 began rising, Modi was presiding over an economy set to expand at the slowest pace in more than a decade, one of India’s biggest bank failures, deadly riots on the streets of New Delhi and months of sustained street protests against a new religion-based citizenship law.
Those issues seem to have been forgotten for now as Modi has placed himself front and center of India’s virus fight and bolstered his image as a world leader by promising to help other countries with medicines like the much-hyped hydroxychloroquine. The street protests have withered away amid the nationwide lockdown, as have criticisms of his government’s handling of the economy, with even the opposition parties focusing on the virus fight.
But the battle to retain the tag of India’s most popular leader is still likely to be an uphill task for Modi at a time when millions have lost their jobs and small businesses have been shuttered in one of the world’s most stringent shutdowns. So far, a slower infection rate — which virus experts say may be masked by low testing numbers — and a contained death toll in the country of 1.3 billion people have earned him praise.
“As the leader with the biggest megaphone, most agile political organization, and the full support of the government machinery, Modi will undoubtedly use the crisis as a way to consolidate his own position while also pinning the blame for India’s economic woes on the virus,” said Milan Vaishnav, director and senior fellow at the South Asia Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
“Politics in India is in a state of suspended animation — in that vacuum, Modi’s leadership has become even more visible while the center has used this crisis to further centralize decision-making authority,” Vaishnav said.
Also read: Modi govt telling businesses to pay staff but cutting its own employees’ salary is untenable
Soaring Popularity
India has been under a stringent nationwide lockdown since March 25, even though some restrictions were eased on April 20 to allow farmers and some industries to resume operations in rural areas and in districts that were free of infections.
The country had reported 31,360 infections, including 1,008 deaths as of Wednesday, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.
The 40-day mandatory stay-at-home for almost all of the nation’s 1.3 billion people — is in place until May 3 — has crippled business activity and put a lid on consumption, the backbone of the economy, which could be heading for its first full-year contraction in more than four decades.
But through it all Modi, who as prime minister has never addressed a press conference, has made regular televised appearances, asking for the nation’s cooperation in the virus battle and thanking citizens for their discipline and fortitude during the lockdown.
Public opinion based approval ratings of world leaders shown in the charts. @PMOIndia leads #IndiaFightsCorona from the front. Consistent high approval ratings for @narendramodi. Nation has confidence in its leadership in an extraordinary situation due a pandemic. pic.twitter.com/fwrRDsp0o7
— Nirmala Sitharaman (@nsitharaman) April 22, 2020
Road Ahead
The fight against rising infections may have silenced the opposition and pushed Modi’s many challenges to the back-burner, but the path ahead is less certain.
When the country is eventually able to exit its lockdown, the prime minister will be questioned about a strategy to help the economy back on its feet, said Sandeep Shastri, a political scientist and Pro Vice Chancellor at Jain University in Bangalore.“The response to the questions will be the barometer to measure the success of the current leadership.”
The main opposition Congress party says it is waiting for virus fears to abate before it puts Modi to the test. The pandemic makes political mobilization difficult, said Manish Tewari, a spokesman for the Congress party. “Nothing else focuses the mind more than the possibility of invisible and lurking death be it on a door knob or a mirror.”
There’s been limited opposition from other political parties as well, although state governments have complained the federal government has corralled finances even as they struggle to find funds to scale up their medical infrastructure.
And the protests that rocked India’s streets until just before the spread of the virus and the subsequent lockdown, are also still simmering.
“The protests will not end,” said Muzakkir Zama Khan, a lawyer who was was part of the demonstrations against the government’s new citizenship law. “The means of expressing our viewpoint may, however, have to change.” – Bloomberg
Also read: PM Modi’s 1st-year report card — C in economy, D in governance, but A in political optics
I mentioned this first in the morning delete all day since. A licking dog gets ashamed of his licking, let alone where it licks. Guess it is good buy to you all. I can no longer take this Modi Modi news, some invented, some made up with whatever rags publish, //Oh well, I see this paper not even matching Indian Express, Statesman or the Hindu.
Any Bullshit printed by the Print is not true. It is irresponsible to even name a killer w/o him being called so by decision making court. Soaring popularity evidence. ? who needs it.? Yeah Right
It is amazing that a poor leader like Modi who has decimated India’s democracy and economy to such an extent that the people love him for it. No other leader could do such a poor job and get loved for it. What has he done that is good for India? Has he brought about great financial rewards to the people? No. Has he strengthened the democratic institutions of India? No. Has he created a great freedom of the press? No. Has he brought about great community strength between all people? No. Has he made most of the rich more richer? Yes most! So all he has done is create an India that hates more and made billionaires richer so why do the people love him? He has never had a real press conference where you could ask him questions. Reminds me of the blind leading the blind over a cliff while they are all speaking his praises!
Popular decisions are just that – populism. Difficult decisions are taken by him/her who can see beyond the tip of his/her nose. To remain popular on the face of tough decisions is the sign of a true leader- One only has to past events. The decision by Narasimha Rao Government was seemingly unpopular and dangerous. In hindsight, that was the correct decision. It is another matter that he could not get a second term.
Print and its editors are anti Modi , , anti India and never have + ve thinking.
The Print is a platform for Modi haters. So it is not surprising if there is so much critisism of him here. Just as from their ivory towers they could not comprehend why people voted back Modi in spite of demonetisation, they are struggling to under why 93% of Indians are now supporting him. One answer could be provided by watching the surreal interview of Raghuram Rajan by Rahul Gandhi, a 90 minutes guru syshya discussion that had to be edited to 27 minutes.
Why publish articles that sans merit and such articles are wishful thinking of people who hate modi…and have nothing to do with India’s real problems and its solutions…Modi’s popularity is because of his commitment and sincerity, only a dimwit will think he will brush aside real problems
The economy of the rich western countries will contract by at least 25 percent if not more. India is no exception.
Mr Gopal : Most Western countries are welfare states and governments have the wherewithal to dampen the deleterious effects of the lockdowns. Not so in India where gross mismanagement of the economy and manmade disasters like demonetisation have inflicted deep wounds in the economy, particularly in the informal sector where 82% of Indians toil.
Of course, by pinning the blame for economic collapse on readily available scapegoats like Muslims, I am quite sure that Modi would live to fool Indians like you another day.
Just because Coronavirus appeared does not mean the fundas have changed. We were going downhill and we are still going downhill. Business was not taking loans and will not take loans. Absolutely no jobs will be created. People will refuse to spend. Reality is dead. Auto is dead. IT will not hire this year. Logistics is dead. Textiles is dead. Tourism is dead. Exports are dying. Remittances from middle east will dry. Tax collection will peter out. Interest on fixed deposits will near zero. This existing generation is lost, finished.
A good leader like Modi knows to pickup issues and decide on when and where of actions. Modi haters are left with limited scope of accusing and abusing him. However, now it doesn’t matter what Modi haters think and do. Modi haters can at the most get one day fame until the social media responds with facts and reality. This is the reason why Modi haters are always on look out for new sticks to beat Modi with. However, in the process, Modi haters are depleting their energy and confidence levels of public.
Modi’s soaring popularity could let him forget India’s pre-Covid problems.
A wishful thinking of someone who cannot understand the meaning of commitment.
There is a simple reason why Prime Minister Modi’s popularity is growing – it’s because he is an extremely capable & high quality leader who is giving his 110% for India and for ALL Indians, irrespective of religion or caste.
These 50 dollar per article ‘journalists’ at The Print can’t see this reality. Their hatred blinds them.
Also….. please stop comparing that nincompoop Rahul Gandhi to the Prime Minister. It is time for The Print to accept the new reality that the corrupt era of the Congress is over?
Adolf Hitler had also this kind of popularity. But that was devastating or all !! And Modi ji’s so called popularity( he is not the leader of the majority of the Indian, mind it) is nothing but to camouflage the other issues , it has been done so plan fully and crookedly!! No one can be fool the people !!!!
Name one person you think who can replace Modi.
Mr Gopal : Do you mean to say that if the PM were to be incapacitated in some way, the country would come to a halt ? Nobody is ir-replaceable and nobody lives for ever.
And in case you have forgotten, the BJP is grooming the Gorakhpur gaurakshak And saffron thug Ajay Bhisht as the successor to Modi.
“Soaring popularity” – – is this another example of fake news or what?