NEW DELHI: About eight in 10 Indians have a favourable view of PM Narendra Modi, including a majority of 55% expressing a very favourable view, a survey by US-based think tank Pew Research Center showed on Wednesday, a finding which confirms the incumbent as the frontrunner for the top post in 2024 when Lok Sabha elections are scheduled.According to the survey, about seven in 10 Indians said Indias influence in the world in recent years was getting stronger, confirming the estimate in political circles that the impression that Indias geopolitical heft has increased under Modi will be in play.
In contrast, 19% said India was getting weaker, and 13% said its influence had not changed.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 new survey examined views of India and its political leaders in and outside of India, as well as Indians views of other countries.
The survey included eight middle-income countries that Pew Research Center had not surveyed since 2019, before the outbreak of Covid-19, due to the challenges of conducting in-person interviews.The survey results come ahead of the G20 leaders summit in New Delhi where global leaders will converge to deliberate on crucial issues.
The results showed that views of India are generally positive across 23 countries.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.Views of India were most positive in Israel, where 71% said they had a favourable view of the country.
India and Israel are part of the I2U2 a partnership among India, Israel, the US and the UAE.India is also seen especially favourably in Kenya, Nigeria and the UK, where at least six in 10 said they had a favourable view of the country.
Kenya and Nigeria additionally stand out for having about a quarter who had a very favourable view of India, the survey results showed.The survey said Indians were also asked to evaluate the influence of six other countries.
Of the countries asked about, the US was most likely to be seen as having become more influential, with about half of Indians saying they saw the US influence in the world in recent years getting stronger.
In contrast, 14% said the US influence was getting weaker, while about three in 10 said it was about the same.