BH CORRESPONDENT, New Delhi: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday took to Twitter to share that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has topped the approval ratings in the world when it comes to handling the coronavirus pandemic as well, according to Morning Consult, a US-based survey research firm.
As of April 14, PM Modi’s net approval rating is 68, up from 62 at the beginning of the year. The survey was based on an average of 447 daily interviews per US leader conducted between January 1-April 14, 2020.
“Prime Minister leads India’s fight against coronavirus from the front. Consistent high approval ratings for PM Narendra Modi. Nation has confidence in its leadership in an extraordinary situation due a pandemic,” the Finance Minister tweeted. She also shared two graphs to back her claim.
Public opinion based approval ratings of world leaders shown in the charts. @PMOIndia leads #IndiaFightsCorona from the front. Consistent high approval ratings for @narendramodi. Nation has confidence in its leadership in an extraordinary situation due a pandemic. pic.twitter.com/fwrRDsp0o7
— Nirmala Sitharaman (@nsitharaman) April 22, 2020
Mexico’s president, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, has the second-highest net approval over that period, though it fell slightly from 39 in January. Australian Prime Minister Scott Morris’s net approval has seen a surge to 26 (from negative 26 on January 1).
Among all ten countries surveyed, Japan’s Abe has the lowest rating (at negative 33) and the worst decline in net approval, having fallen from negative 18 at the start of 2020, the data showed.
Other leaders who have seen their popularity dip during this stretch include US President Donald Trump and Brazil’s Prime Minister Jair Bolsanaro. The data is based on an average of 447 daily interviews per non-US leader, and 7,039 daily interviews from Trump, conducted between January 1- April 14, 2020.
On Wednesday, coronavirus cases in India cross the 20,000 mark and 652 have died due to COVID-19.