Virendra Pandit
New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has once again topped the global leaders’ popularity chart, getting the highest rating of 76 percent, according to a survey.
PM Modi was followed by Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador (66 percent), Switzerland President Alain Berset (58 percent), and Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (49 percent). Italian premier Giorgia Meloni occupies the sixth spot with 41 percent approval ratings.
In contrast, US President Joe Biden has a 37 percent approval rating, Canadian PM Justin Trudeau has 31 percent, British PM Rishi Sunak’s rating stands at 25 percent, and French President Emmanuel Macron stands at just 24 percent.
According to a Morning Consult survey, PM Modi continues to be at the top among world leaders with an approval rating of 76 percent.
The US-based consultancy firm’s Global Leader Approval Rating Tracker found that 76 percent of people in India approve of PM Modi’s leadership, while 18 percent disapprove of it and six percent did not give any opinion.
In previous surveys too, PM Modi had topped the global ratings in contrast to the modest levels of popularity of other key global leaders.
The fresh ratings came this week after PM Modi-led Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) registered massive victories in three assembly elections in the Hindi heartland states of Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Chhattisgarh.
This is being seen as a huge boost for PM Modi and his party ahead of the general elections slated to be held in mid-2024.
The latest approval ratings are based on data collected from November 29 to December 5, 2023. The data, collected by the research firm, is based on a survey of 22 global leaders.
Reacting to the survey, BJP leaders asserted on Friday that “Modi ki guarantee” and “Modi’s magic” have been endorsed even by an international survey as Prime Minister Narendra Modi topped the approval ratings among several world leaders.
BJP national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla said that after the recent assembly election results, even an international poll has given a thumbs up to PM Modi’s guarantee and magic, which is about his model of governance and delivery.
He noted that Modi scored high ratings even during an international crisis like COVID-19 when other world leaders suffered in popular support. The approval rating will be reflected in the Lok Sabha polls in 2024, Poonawalla said.
Another BJP leader C T Ravi lauded Modi as a Karmayogi who has been notching up high approval ratings due to his hard work, vision, and dedication to transforming the country.