A survey by the US-based think tank Pew Research Centre revealed that about 80% of Indians have a favourable opinion of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, with a majority of 55% expressing a very favourable opinion. This finding confirms the incumbent as the front-runner for the top job in 2024 when Lok Sabha elections are scheduled.
According to the survey, around seven out of ten Indians believe that India's influence has grown over the past few years, supporting the political community's belief that Modi's election has boosted India's geopolitical might. By comparison, 13% and 19% of respondents felt India's impact has remained stable, respectively. It also showed that about six in 10 Indians saw Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in a positive light: a finding that will encourage the principal opposition party not to give up its claim to be the main challenger. About 34% of those polled had an unfavourable view of the Congress politician.
The most recent survey examined Indians' opinions on other nations as well as their perceptions of India and its political leaders both inside and outside of India. Due to the difficulties in conducting in-person interviews, Pew Research Centre had not studied eight middle-income nations since 2019, prior to the Covid-19 epidemic.
The results also showed that 46% of adults held a favourable view of India, while a median of 34% had unfavourable views. In comparison, views of Modi, which were collected in a subset of 12 countries, were more mixed - 37% said they had confidence in Modi and 40% said they lacked confidence in him.