The Unstoppable Force at the Center of Indian Politics

MIN READMay 26, 2017 | 22:05 GMT

Three years into Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's tenure, job growth is tepid, relations with Pakistan are on the rocks and India's manufacturing industry is still foundering. Yet the administration's approval rating is still over 60 percent.

(MONEY SHARMA/AFP/Getty Images)

Despite the challenges he's faced in his first three years as prime minister, Narendra Modi's popularity looks no worse for the wear. A reported 61 percent of Indians approve of the government's performance, according to a recent poll widely cited in the country's press. To be sure, the figure represents a three-point drop from the previous year. Nevertheless, considering India's stubbornly low job creation rates -- and the furor that erupted when Modi launched a sweeping demonetization campaign -- a three percent loss isn't bad. So what's behind the prime minster's enduring appeal?...