During her visit to India last week, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni showered fulsome praise on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, referring to him as the “most loved leader around the world”.
What she said was a reaffirmation of PM Modi’s global standing, not just among fellow leaders, but how he is perceived by the people at large.
Meloni’s remarks are a follow-up of the US global leader approval-tracker institution, Morning Consult, which named Prime Minister Narendra Modi as the world’s most popular leader for the second time in a row in early February. The survey indicated that the PM has a staggering approval rating of above 75 per cent – far ahead of the other leaders on the survey.
“The latest approval ratings are based on data collected from January 26-31, 2023. Approval ratings are based on a seven-day moving average of adult residents in each country, with sample sizes varying by country,” the official website of the surveyor said.
In fact, PM Modi’s approval increased in recent days, standing at 79 per cent in the third week of January.
While there were always naysayers to any piece of positive news, the fact is that the Morning Consult trend has been reaffirmed repeatedly. If the Italian PM was effusive in her praise, Microsoft founder Bill Gates was no less in his assessment. Gushing at the rapid pace of India’s evolution, Gates said in his blog GatesNotes : “My conversation with the Prime Minister left me more optimistic than ever about the progress that India is making in health, development, and climate. The country is showing what’s possible when we invest in innovation. I hope India will continue this progress and share its innovations with the world.”
Why PM is an icon
So why is it that leaders and innovators around the world believe in the Modi Story and see him as an icon who is lighting the path for the rest of humanity? It is because of his remarkable clarity of vision, unique ability to leverage technology at scale for the people of India, and the courage to offer all this to the rest of the world and, most important, execute efficiently, seamlessly and transparently.
It is this ability to transcend every steeplechase and middleman to get directly to the masses that has endeared Prime Minister Modi to the people. One great example is 87-year-old Bittan Devi from Mainpuri, Uttar Pradesh.
She wanted to register her 2.5 acres of agricultural land in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s name. She is a widow, who was at the mercy of her three sons and their wives who heartlessly declined to look after her.
But the Government was her lifeline through the direct transfer scheme. As she told one interviewer: “Modi gives me money. He gives me a pension of Rs 2,000. Therefore, I will give my 12 bigha land to Modi ji.”
Few leaders have been able to transcend their following into such reverence. Narendra Modi is one of the fortunate few to receive such adulation and respect and India is lucky that he is its Prime Minister.
