His intelligence and wisdom is another very strong point that gets him support across the spectrum. He is respected a little more for this among the educated respondents than among the less educated. All in all, people find him trustworthy, a crucial asset for any political leader.

Compared to the poll held in January, his trust rating has dropped by about 5 points. But when he is compared to other recent Prime Ministers, his overall evaluation is quite positive. He is rated to have been better PM for the country than all the recent PMs except Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

This positive evaluation comes with the right kind of “bad news.” The PM is not seen as a strong leader with an independent mind. Only 8% believe that he takes major policy decisions on his own as against 46% who think that Sonia takes all or at least all the major decisions.

The PM is nowhere close to becoming a larger-than-life figure or a charismatic leader like Vajpayee who was more popular than his party. In the popularity ranking for the most preferred choice as the Prime Minister, Singh is still placed third.

At 16% of the popular support, he is no threat to Sonia Gandhi who leads with 29%, having overtaken Vajpayee shortly after the 2004 elections. The PM has added 5 points to his popularity since January, reflecting higher name recognition over time, but not at the expense of Sonia Gandhi.

The BJP has reasons to feel threatened for Vajpayee’s popularity is falling steadily since the last Lok Sabha elections without any corresponding gains for Advani or any other leader from the party.

... contd.