Tamil Nadu: Jayalalithaa catching up with Modi in PM race?

While fewer people believe Jayalalithaa might become PM following the upcoming elections compared to those who believe that her chances are slim, the Tamil Nadu CM is gaining in popularity among her voters.

In fact, according to a survey conducted by the CSDS for the Lokniti IBN election tracker, Jayalalithaa’s demand as the country’s PM has gone up by a sharp 9 percent in just one month. In February this year, 24 percent of the poll’s respondents said that they prefer Jaya as PM.

A month on, in March, 33 percent of the respondents said that her chances of becoming PM are great. There are several reasons, all related to her governance model in Tamil Nadu, which has contributed to her rise in popularity.

The survey shows that net satisfaction with her government has gone up by 46 percent in the past few months, while more and more voters have gotten disillusioned with the UPA government. Similarly, while Modi still leads in the PM race with 24 percent of the respondents voting in his favour, 17 percent of the people surveyed wanted Jayalalithaa as PM. Rahul Gandhi comes as a distant second with just 9 percent votes.

Given that the Tamil Nadu CM has made it very clear that she will not join the NDA unless she has no other options left, should this be reason for Modi to worry?