New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s approval ratings have fallen to a new low, a survey showed, as the country struggles to contain a devastating second wave of the coronavirus pandemic, reports Reuters.
Narendra Modi, who swept to power in 2014 and was re-elected in 2019 with the biggest majority of any leader in three decades has long fostered the image of a powerful nationalist leader.
But India’s Covid-19 caseload surged past 25 million this week, exposing a lack of preparation and eroding Modi’s support base, according to US data intelligence company Morning Consult’s tracker of a dozen global leaders.
Narendra Modi’s overall ratings this week stand at 63%, his lowest since the US firm began tracking his popularity in August 2019. The big decline happened in April when his net approval dropped 22 points, reports Reuters.
That sharp fall came as the pandemic appeared to be overwhelming large urban centers such as Delhi, where hospitals ran out of beds and life-saving oxygen and people died in parking lots, gasping for breath.
The situation has since eased in Delhi and Mumbai as cases have fallen but the virus has penetrated deep into India’s vast hinterland where public health facilities are weaker.
A survey among urban Indians by polling agency YouGov this month showed public confidence in the government’s handling of the crisis has plummeted since February when the second wave began.
