As Narendra Modi completes ten years today as chief minister of Gujarat, most objective commentators have assessed his governance record in superlative terms. It is not surprising therefore that the latest LensOnNews poll shows that a whopping 81 percent of the urban India rate Narendra Modi’s performance as chief minister of Gujarat as either excellent or very good. Very significantly, only three percent of the respondents polled said that his performance was either average or poor.

Asked if the BJP would perform better if Narendra Modi was projected as its prime ministerial candidate, over two-thirds of respondents (68 percent) answered in the affirmative. Significantly, the negative responses were as low as 18 percent. Thirteen percent of respondents did not offer an opinion in this regard. 

There has been a determined and concerted attempt to put Narendra Modi in the dock for his alleged complicity in fomenting the post-Godhra riots in Gujarat. Ultimately, it is the courts and the public opinion which will decide this question. An important development in this regard was the Supreme Court’s order last month sending the SIT’s report to the trial court which had significantly refused to name Modi as an accused in the Gujarat riot cases.

LensOnNews poll had quizzed respondents about the Supreme Court’s order. Asked if they agreed or disagreed with the apex court’s judgment, an overwhelming 75 percent concurred with the apex Court’s stand over the issue. Only 12 percent disagreed, while 13 percent offered no opinion.

Asked how the apex Court’s judgment has impacted the image of Narendra Modi, 50 percent said it had improved, while 39 percent said that there was no change in their perception after the judgment. Eleven percent offered no opinion in this regard.

The LensOnNews.com poll was carried out in 12 cities across all the regions among a representative cross-sectional sample of 1005 voters in the middle of September. The poll findings carry a margin of error of four percent.