US-INDIA GLOBAL REVIEW JUL-SEP 2020

28 US-INDIA GLOBAL REVIEW JULY-SEPTEMBER 2020 T he American polling company, Morning Consult recently released findings about the popularity of lead- ers around the globe during the COVID-19 pandemic, which showed Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India at the top of the list. The American polling company, Morning Consult recently released findings about the popularity of leaders around the globe during the COVID-19 pandemic, which showed Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India at the top of the list. The survey shows a rise in sup- port for Modi from 76 percent to 82 percent “based on an average of 3,000 daily online interviews per non-U.S. leader (within respective countries)” conducted between Jan. 7 and May 19, 2020, according to the line graph the company sent to News India Times on May 20. (https://morn- ingconsult.com/form/coronavirus- outbreak-tracker/#section-94) Interestingly, while the line graph fluctuates before March 17, it shows an almost steady rise in Modi’s popularity after the nation- wide lockdown was imposed that day. Experts on India, political and data analysts, as well as those pro and anti the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, agree on one point — the poll may not adequately represent the lower income and poor people of India, as according to Morning Consult, “Surveys are conducted in that country’s official language, and the respondent can manually change to English.” Which experts say, leaves one with the conclusion that the poll was conducted online, by phone, or other electronic device, not available to every economic strata in India. The question asked in the poll, which appears to be ongoing, is: “Do you approve or disapprove of the job (NAME) is doing as (TITLE)?” Respondents are able to select strongly approve, some- what approve, somewhat disap- prove, strongly disapprove, or I ndia’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi poses for a picture with a delegation of members of the European Parliament after their meeting in New Delhi, India, October 28, 2019. Photo: India’s Press Information Bureau/Handout via REUTERS American poll of national leaders shows Modi most popular among citizens PANDEMIC By Ela Dutt