Concept demo/article on Narendra Modi and religion in India.

1. Religion and Executive Approval in India
Adam Tucker, December 2021
What drives approval?
The economy has long been considered the driving force behind electoral outcomes.
While dependent on factors like institutions, media coverage, and partisanship, the way a
majority views economic performance can rapidly move the needle on a government.
The power of the economy on approval can, however, take a back seat to more salient
issues. War, scandal, and crime are intense matters which can define a government or a
party. A pressing example is religion in India.
Issue Salience
Religion supplants economic performance as the most salient issue in Indian politics.
According to India’s 2011 Census data, 79.8% of Indians identify as religious Hindus.
Despite generally positive views on religious freedom, a startling number of Indians seek
to intermingle exclusively with other members of the same religion. In recent decades,
Hindu nationalism has threatened India’s secularity. The Hindu voting block is divided
during elections where the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance faces off against the
struggling INC-led United Progressive Alliance. Research suggests that more zealous
Hindus are twice as likely to vote BJP than their less religious compatriots.

2. Narendra Modi
While he isn’t the face of Hindu Nationalism, BJP Prime Minister Narendra Modi may
well be the face of turning a blind eye. Modi’s rise to power has been marked by
grandiose economic planning and India-first rhetoric. Despite seeing a brief rally during
the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, Modi’s approval suffered from the almost
predictable cost-of-ruling tenet. Modi has cultivated a remarkably conservative,
hardworking image of himself that included early claims that he had never taken leave
of absence as PM and hadn’t taken holiday in 20 years. The PM’s daily regimen in 2014
consisted of just a few hours of sleep before 5 a.m. Yoga exercise. Just as Modi’s hands
are never idle, they also avoid play. The PM is known for avoiding entertainment, eating
simple foods, and rigidly following Hindu holiday fasting schedules. Modi’s calm yet
powerful style is the perfect conduit for Hindutva radicalism. His lasting charismatic
legitimacy is evident by remarkably steady approval ratings. That is, he enjoys
unwavering support but also endures unwavering disapproval, not unlike other
semi-populist leaders Donald Trump, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, and Jair Bolsonaro.

3. An August 2021 poll by India Today surveyed a nationally representative sample of
Indians: What is the single biggest achievement of the Modi Government? Responses of
groundbreaking on the Ram Temple (29%) and repealing Article 370 (22%) comprise over
half of all responses. These religious issues carry clout among the Hindu majority and
the Muslim minority, who find themselves predictably among the opposition. Where
these other semi-populist leaders may lean on nationalism in its more pure form, Modi’s
Hindutva is uniquely applicable to his fervent Hindu majority.
India’s Future
Narendra Modi’s strong approval ratings aren’t just for show. The 2019 Lok Sabha
election elicited record turnout for India as a whole and Indian women in particular.
The BJP added 21 seats to their already substantial majority in parliament. Religious
tensions continued to flare in 2021, and India Today polls show Modi’s further right BJP
counterpart and Chief Minister of electoral powerhouse Uttar Pradesh, Yogi Adityanath,
as a potential favorite to be the next Prime Minister. Unlike Modi’s understated attire,
Adityanath wears saffron robes, according to him, in the spirit of nation-building. Will
his dress and outbursts outdo Modi’s figurative religious garb? With the 2021 elections
looming, India’s government threatens the world’s largest democracy and its secularist
tradition.