PM Modi eclipses Joe Biden & Boris Johnson in new approval ratings amid COVID-19 crisis

Amid rumblings over the Centre's handling of the second COVID-19 wave, a US-based data intelligence firm has found that PM Modi's approval ratings remain higher than most world leaders. As per Morning Consult, a survey entailing 2126 adults in India showed that 66% of persons approved of him as against 28% of respondents who indicated their disapproval. The sample is representative of the literate population in the country.

Tracking the national approving ratings of government leaders in Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Mexico, South Korea, Spain, the United Kingdom, and the United States, the firm offers real-time insight into the shifting political dynamics. While the Global Leader Approval Rating Tracker does show that PM's approval ratings nosedived since the onset of the second wave, the support for him has picked up since June 5 and remained in the 66% range since June 8. His peak remains an 84% approval rating on May 3, 2020, when the novel coronavirus-induced nationwide lockdown was in force.

Additionally, the tracker indicates that this peak was also witnessed on August 11, 2019, days after the abrogation of Article 370. In the approval rating list, PM Modi is followed by Italian PM Mario Draghi (65%), Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador (63%), Australian PM Scott Morrison (54%), German Chancellor Angela Merkel (53%), US President Joe Biden (53%), Canadian PM Justin Trudeau (48%), UK PM Boris Johnson (44%), South Korean President Moon Jae-In (37%), Spanish PM Pedro Sánchez (36%), Brazilian President Jaire Bolsonaro (35%), French President Emmanuel Macron (35%) and Japanese PM Yoshihide Suga (29%). Adding a caveat, the data intelligence company has stressed that the margin of error stands at +/- 1-3%. 

The national context

These approval ratings come at a juncture when PM Modi has been under attack from the opposition over COVID-19 management. For instance, the deaths of novel coronavirus patients owing to the deficient oxygen supply and the discrepancies in the official death toll have garnered global attention. The Centre is also facing a crisis on the economic front as India's GDP contracted by 7.3% in 2020-21, making this the first full contraction year in the economy since 1979-80. 

Moreover, the inability of the BJP to make substantial inroads in West Bengal despite a high-octane Assembly election campaign also gave a fresh lease of life to the opposition. However, the Union government's corrective measures in the COVID-19 fight, the gradual decline of cases and the BJP top brass' review of the situation in multiple states such as Uttar Pradesh is being seen as an indication that the PM wants to leave no stone unturned for a third successive Lok Sabha win in 2024. The approval ratings also assume significance in the wake of the opposition's inability to project an effective national alternative so far.