Post-Pulwama, PM Narendra Modi’s ratings rise by 7% to 52%: Poll

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ratings have gone up by over 7% after the Pulwama attack, according to a tracker poll conducted by Times Now and VMR.

In the latest round of tracker poll conducted between February 5 and 21, 52% of the respondents said Modi has a better roadmap for the country while 27% voted for Congress president Rahul Gandhi. Only 7.3% voted for regional leaders. In the earlier round conducted in January, 44.4% had voted for Modi, 30% for Rahul and 13.8% for regional leaders.



However, while a majority rooted for Modi, 43% said Rahul has emerged as a credible alternative in 2019 against 40% who gave the Congress president a thumbs down.

While a majority rooted for Modi, 46% of the respondents in the latest poll said BJP-led government had “least fulfilled” its poll promises. Only 27% said the government had “most fulfilled” its promises.

Employment is the single biggest issue in these elections according to 40% of the respondents while schemes for farmers was a distant second with 17.7%. Only 14% said construction of the Ram temple was the defining issue in the polls.

However, to another question on job losses, 40% said job losses are lesser and opportunities have actually grown while 24% said the number of unemployed is much higher and the government may not have accurate data. As many as 36% said these are “regular job losses”.

To a question on the income tax relief provided in the Union budget, 33% said it was far overdue while 30% said it was “very little and late, but the PM has good intentions”. As many as 24% saw it as a poll stunt.

On the PM-Kisan scheme, only 30% think that it will be of no help to the farmers. The latest round of Times Now-VMR poll was conducted at 690 locations across the country. A total of 14431 voters were surveyed.