Modi’s popularity unshaken amid middle class: survey

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who swept to power in the 2014 general elections with his popularity, is still the most popular choice amongst India's middle class, a survey shows.

The ET-TNS survey, which sampled persons with annual incomes from Rs3 lakh - Rs20 lakh in New Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Bengaluru, Kolkata, Hyderabad and Ahmedabad, revealed that Modi continues to be the most popular leader.

The sampled population gave the Prime Minister 7.68 out of a maximum 10 points.

Finance minister Arun Jaitley emerged as the second most popular amid the middle class, with the sampled population giving him  5.86/10. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi got a mere 3.61/10 from the middle class.

The answers to a series of questions in the survey reveal that the middle class is happy with the work of the BJP-led government, with 45 per cent saying they were very satisfied with the economic growth under the current government, while 41 per cent said they were moderately satisfied and only 14 per cent said they were unsatisfied with the economic progress made under the Modi government.

Talking about PM Modi's signature "acche din" (promise of good days), the survey revealed that 58 per cent of the sampled population were hopeful of better days ahead under the current government, 33 per cent said things were likely to continue as they were, and only 8 per cent said that things will get worse.