India is battling one of the world’s highest coronavirus caseloads, its worst-ever economic slump, shuttered factories, farmer protests and the deadliest border fighting with China in decades.
Yet Prime Minister Narendra Modi appears to remain as popular as ever. Opinion polls in Bihar, where from Oct. 28 to Nov. 7 he faces his first major electoral test since the pandemic, show his coalition comfortably retaining control of the state government. A separate India Today "Mood of the Nation” poll in August said 78% rated his performance as "good to outstanding” compared with 71% last year.
One of those supporters is Sanjay Kumar, 22, a carpenter who was beaten by police in April for violating India’s strict lockdown while cycling from the capital New Delhi to his village in Bihar — a journey of more than 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) — after he lost his job. He’s still unable to find regular work.