Modi or Manmohan – whose economic performance is better?

(Riya Singh, Intern Journalist): According to the latest survey, the majority of Indians now no longer believe that the Modi government’s economic performance is ‘better’ than that of the Manmohan Singh-led UPA government. As per the survey report, the majority of respondents opined that the economic performance of the present government is ‘at par’ with the earlier Congress-led governments.

Nearly 45 percent of the 12,021 respondents believe that the current regime is at par with UPA in terms of economic measures. 43 percent believe that the Modi government has fared better than the Manmohan Singh government. Meanwhile, 72 percent of respondents voted the NDA government’s handling of the economy as outstanding or good.

According to the data analyzed, for the longest period of time (during Narendra Modi’s first term and second term as Prime Minister), the majority of respondents felt that the Modi government’s handling of the economy was better than UPA. It stood at around 60 percent in January 2017 (a survey that was conducted just after demonetization), while it remained above 50 percent for quite some time but came down to 43 percent in August 2020.

The good news for the present government is that in the January 2020 survey, 30 percent of respondents had voted that the Modi government’s handling of the economy was worse than UPA’s, which has now slipped to only 10 percent.

In a bid to revive an economy battered by coronavirus lockdowns, PM Narendra Modi in May announced Rs 21 lakh crore ‘AatmaNirbhar Bharat Abhiyan’ stimulus package to propel the country on the path of self-sustenance. The survey results showed that 53 percent of respondents believed it to be a timely event.

The survey was conducted in 97 parliamentary constituencies in 194 assembly constituencies across 19 states in India. A total of 12,021 respondents were interviewed, which includes 67 percent from rural areas and the remaining 33 percent from urban areas of the country. The survey was conducted in Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Gujarat, Haryana, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.