India Today recently published findings of its Mood of the Nation opinion poll, the key highlights being full marks to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.
As per the MoTN poll, if Lok Sabha elections were held today, the BJP would secure a majority. 48 percent of the respondents rated Modi’s performance as PM as good, while 30 percent rated it as outstanding! The revocation of Article 370 and the C verdict on the Ram Temple were rated as the top two achievements of his government. Though Modi did receive flak for his handling of the Covid-19 pandemic and growing unemployment in the country. Amit Shah topped the list of best performing minister in the Modi government, while UP CM Adityanath was voted best chief minister for the third time in a row!
The results and the popularity of both, Modi and Yogi, came as a surprise to many given the sea of nationwide protests in wake of not just the abrogation of Article 370 and the communication blackout in Jammu and Kashmir, but also the passage of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) with a potential National Register of Citizens (NRC) on the horizon through a backdoor entry via the National Population Register (NPR). In fact, Adityanath’s crackdown on anti-CAA protesters was seen as particularly harsh by human rights watchers.
In fact, some social media users were quick to point out how the manner in which the questions were framed appeared to be biased.
The question about @RahulGandhi, gives just one positive option.
The question about @narendramodi, does not have ‘Bad’ as an option.
That’s one example of perception management by the regime – aided & abetted by the media. #MoodOfTheNation @IndiaToday pic.twitter.com/Tqh10S6kPK— Pawan Khera (@Pawankhera) August 9, 2020
Some like former bureaucrat Kannan Gopinath decided to take a deep dive into the data and interpret it differently:
It is a survey that is full of contradictory results. Precisely why it gives us tremendous insights.
It says 85% of people have either lost their job or has seen their income fall due to covid. But.. 2/n pic.twitter.com/01ZeiZy6FT
— Kannan Gopinathan (@naukarshah) August 10, 2020
A survey where 93% of the respondents felt Govt’s handling of the economy has been either outstanding, good or average.
Despite the highest unemployment or lowest growth seen in decades. 4/n pic.twitter.com/Ii0lOQAQPh
— Kannan Gopinathan (@naukarshah) August 10, 2020
And in this survey with people with above mentioned views/opinions/feelings as the sample set, we find that only 50% support CAA.
Whereas 40% explicitly oppose it. 6/n pic.twitter.com/RHM3RkoVAC
— Kannan Gopinathan (@naukarshah) August 10, 2020
Some others also questioned the validity of the results given the small sample size.
Those saying a sample size of 12000 is very small given our country’s size miss the point. The key issue is , how representative is the sample of India’s heterogeneous mix?
Even a sample size of 1200 can predict a national trend.
Ref: #MoodOfTheNation #IndiaToday
— Sanjay Jha (@JhaSanjay) August 10, 2020
This is a very valid point given India’s socio-cultural diversity and varying degrees of privileges enjoyed by different people. Whether the voice of Dalit-Bahuhan-Adivasis, women, people of LGBTQIA+ community and other ethno-linguistic minorities have been represented adequately, is a valid question.
Many others didn’t mince words while alleging political affiliations of the media house’s leadership may have played a part in the findings:
Who does Rahul Kanwal work for?#MoodOfTheNation poll.
— Saket Gokhale (@SaketGokhale) August 8, 2020
Others used humour as a coping mechanism:
#IndiaToday survey results.#MoodOfTheNation @IndiaToday pic.twitter.com/UeO8USyg3g
— Soundar C / சௌந்தர் செ (@soundarc2001) August 9, 2020
How would you rate the Modi govt’s handling of the recent skirmishes with China? #MoodOfTheNation
— Akash Banerjee (@TheDeshBhakt) August 10, 2020
Q. How would you rate the Modi govt’s handling of the economy?#MoodOfTheNation
— Akash Banerjee (@TheDeshBhakt) August 9, 2020
Related:
Newsrooms, Living Rooms and Class Rooms: Evolution of the Ayodhya Narrative
Reportage on Ram Temple: Is the media playing it safe?
Journalism is a hazardous profession in Uttar Pradesh
Webinar on rise in Human Rights violations in UP during lockdown
UP’s ‘Name and shame ordinance’ against all canons of justice: PIL in Allahabad HC