New Delhi: Close to three out of every five Indians are of the opinion that the Narendra Modi regime has been marked by “strong decisions” over the last nine years.
This was disclosed during an exclusive pan-India survey conducted by CVoter to mark nine years of the regime. Modi was sworn in as the Prime Minister of India on May 26, 2014 after he led the BJP to a historic majority of 282 seats in the Lok Sabha elections.
One of his campaign planks was a promise not to be as “weak” as his predecessor, Dr. Manmohan Singh. Surprisingly, a near majority of voters who support the UPA and oppose Modi also share the opinion.
During the survey, 48 per cent of UPA supporters stated that the “Modi regime has taken strong decisions”. The numbers are significantly higher for Modi supporters with three out of every four Indians sharing the sentiment. Supporters of Modi often boast that he has always taken strong decisions even when they have been politically risky. Many cite demonetisation as one such political risk taken by Modi.
The CVoter survey also reveals other significant differences. For instance, while 53 per cent of those in the 18 to 24 year age group feel he has taken strong decisions, close to 74 per cent of those in the 35 to 44 year age group feel the same. Similarly, while 45 per cent of those belonging to scheduled caste (Dalits) feel Modi has taken strong decisions, 70 per cent of upper caste Hindu share the same sentiment.
Analysts cite the abrogation of Article 370 that gave special status to Jammu & Kashmir as a powerful example of this.