Public image of Narendra Modi

Narendra Modi the 14th Prime Minister of India, has elicited a number of public perceptions regarding his personality and background.
Personal life.
Modi was born in a Gujarati Hindu family and is a vegetarian. He has two older brothers and three younger brothers. He is married, but acknowledged the marriage only in April 2014, shortly before the national elections that swept him to power. His spouse is Jashodaben, a retired school teacher. The couple has remained married, but estranged for more than fifty years. He is a lifelong member of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and its political arm, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Modi became a 'Pracharak' (missionary worker) of the RSS in early 1970s. Since becoming a prachark, Modi has either cut down or reduced ties to his family per the RSS rules.
Perception through the years.
Journalist Ashis Nandy, who is also a trained psychologist, was one of the first to interview Modi when the latter was an RSS pracharak at the height of the Ram Janmabhoomi campaign in the early 1990s. At that time in Modi, he found "a classic, clinical case of a fascist".
Soon after becoming the chief minister of Gujarat, the state was convulsed by sectarian riots in 2002.The complicity of Modi's government in the pogrom against the Muslim minorities made Modi a pariah for many years. The United States and many European countries imposed visa bans on Modi after the riots. These remained in force for many years and were lifted shortly before he became prime minister in 2014
Soon after the Gujarat riots, Modi embarked on a strategy to make the state a friendly place to set up business and rebrand his image from being a Hindu hardliner to a development oriented leader. This led to him being dubbed as Vikaspurush (Development man). This was the main theme during his successful campaign in 2014.
Modi has for years presented himself as an able administrator with an eye for detail. But his reputation as a vigilant administrator started to lose its shine in 2016 when his notorious demonetisation policy caused distress to millions of Indians who largely relied on cash. His reputation took a further hit last year when he imposed a complete lockdown in the country at four hours notice to stop the spread of Covid-19. This led to millions losing their jobs and many lost their lives. The Indian economy also shrunk in percentage terms by double digit numbers.
For foreign observers, his nationalist impulses are always paired with a sense of technocratic competence. But according to Christopher Clary, assistant professor of political science at the State University of New York, technocratic competence has been entirely missing from his response to the second wave of Covid-19 in India.
Communication strategies.
Modi has used multiple strategies to build up his image. These include use of Social media, government media outlets, and a distinct attire. The machinery for this works also includes ad makers, speechwriters and assorted spinners managing Modi's image and campaigns.
Social media.
One of the main strategies used by Narendra Modi and his government has been the extensive use of Social media to directly communicate with the public. In September 2014 Modi became the second-most-followed leader in the world with 5 million Twitter subscribers. Modi's 31 August 2012 post on Google Hangouts made him the first Indian politician to interact with the public on live chat. Modi was the second-most-followed leader in the world (with over 30 million followers on Twitter, as of June 2017 behind only Barack Obama. For the 2014 elections, The BJP's National Digital Operations Centre (NDOC) led a group of volunteers for the social media campaign. The volunteers were charged with trolling and attacking mainstream journalists considered unfavorable to Modi. The group was headed by Arvind Gupta. Gupta joined the team in 2009 and for 2014 election campaign, he was in charge of websites, uploading videos of rallies and meetings, distributing them to media houses, and posting comments and releases and trolling opponents online.
There has been concern over misinformation and fake news being spread on social media platforms, particularly Whatsapp, by Modi's BJP.
Mann ki Baat.
Modi's use of social media has been at the expense of traditional media such as Television and print media. He rarely gives interviews or holds a press conference. Since coming to power in 2014, Modi has also been hosting a monthly monologue called Mann Ki Baat on the government owned All India radio and Doordarshan. His supporters applaud the use of an old fashioned medium like radio to promote positive social causes while his detractors call it another propaganda tactic by Modi to reach out to millions of people untouched by the internet.
Media intimidation.
Modi has been called a controversial, polarising and divisive figure by many media sources. There are reports that Modi and his government are highly anxious to avoid negative media attention. Journalists and public figures have lost their jobs following criticism of Modi.
Optics and Attire.
Modi has been called a fashion leader in India, and his clothing choices have been discussed internationally. Recognition of his sartorial style is a major part of his public image. The type of vest regularly worn by Modi have become popular, and called as "Modi Jackets".
In January 2015 while receiving United States President Barack Obama in a state visit at the Hyderabad House, Modi wore a suit with his name embroidered repeatedly in the pinstripes. Modi claimed that the suit was gifted to him. Modi's political opposition criticized his wearing the suit, complaining that he campaigns on an image of coming from a poor background and living without money while at the same time wearing luxury products such as this suit. Other commentators said that in choosing this suit Modi was being a "parvenu", at the height of vanity, going to a ridiculous extreme, and political opposition party leader Jairam Ramesh said that he was a megalomaniac. A month later the suit was auctioned for and amount was directly donated to the Clean Ganga Mission. Journalist Siddharth Varadarajan commented on the public support for the auction by saying "the manner in which Mr. Modi's leadership has been projected is extremely unhealthy in any democratic society". What was noticeable was that though Modi had not paid a penny for the suit material and also the making which was done free of cost by Jade Blue, he still managed to auction the suit for US$695,000 and contributed the entire amount for Clean Ganga project.
Modi's usual attire is a kurta and vest, and his half-sleeve kurta is sometimes called the Modi Kurta. The prime minister's clothes are made of silk or cotton, are crisply ironed and are handmade in Gujarat. When he was chief minister he wore bold, bright colours, changing to pastels as prime minister. For holidays, Modi wears a traditional turban from wherever he is. Some of his clothing has been created by Bollywood fashion designer Troy Costa.
In 2009, Modi's clothing was said to be Bollywoodesque and indicative of Gujarat's modernism. According to "Vogue India" editor Priya Tanna in a "New York Times" blog, "Never before has there been such a strong convergence between what a politician in India stands for and his clothing." Tanna called his clothing choice "100% India": democratic, supportive of Indian industry (separating him from politicians in Western suits), emblematic of his humble birth, clean and hygienic. Responding to Tanna, another commentator said that Modi's fashion choice has no particular meaning and there is no need to interpret it.
Modi also likes to don the orange (bhagwa) robes of a Hindu sanyasi for photo opportunities. At the end of the election campaign in May 2019, he travelled to a mountain cave in the Himalayas at Kedarnath for meditation.He was heavily mocked by national and international media for conducting his meditation (tapasya in Sanskrit) in a cave that had an attached toilet, a heater, a bathing area, an electric geyser, a telephone, WiFi, and a grand view. A cameraperson was allowed to record the session.
56-inch Chest.
One of the strategies that Modi and his handlers have used to project his "Hero" status is his "56-inch Chest". Although a masculine attribute, the 56-inch chest seems to have garnered him support from female voters.Author Manjima Chatterjee claims that Modi's perceived decisiveness makes him a sex symbol for women. His detractors, however, lampoon this attribute or try to demolish the myth by saying that it is only 44 inch.
Charity.
Modi donates generously for different government related schemes. He always auctions gifts received. He has raised Rs 89.96 crore by auctioning all gifts he received as Chief Minister of Gujarat and donated this to the Kanya Kelavani Fund. After becoming PM, he has contributed to public causes ranging from Girl Child Education to Clean Ganga to welfare of underprivileged. These donations have now exceeded 103 crores and most of that comes from his personal savings and auctions of the gift he has received. The ethics of his auctioning of gifts that he received as a government official has been subjected to criticism.
Yoga.
After promoting Yoga in his 2015 address to the UN, Modi has been holding the International Day of Yoga every year on 21 June, the day of Northern Summer solstice.
Popularity and Influence.
In November 2017, a survey of Pew Research Center showed Modi to be the "by far" most popular figure in Indian politics. In this survey Modi at 88% was ahead of Rahul Gandhi (58%), Sonia Gandhi (57%) and Arvind Kejriwal (39%).
In a nationwide survey concerning Indian Chief Ministers, Modi was named Best Chief Minister in 2007 by "India Today". In March 2012 Modi appeared on the cover of the Asian edition of "Time", one of the few Indian politicians to have done so, and made the 2014 Time 100 list of the world's most influential people. He has become the most followed Asian leader on Twitter, and in 2014 was ranked the 15th-most-powerful person in the world by "Forbes". In 2015, Modi was one of "Time"s "30 most influential people on the internet" as the second-most-followed politician on Twitter and Facebook. In 2015, Modi was ranked 5th on "Forbes" magazine's list of 'World's Greatest Leaders'. Modi was featured in a cover story written by journalist and novelist, Aatish Taseer in a Time magazine article titled "India's divider in chief" in the May 20 2019 issue. This was followed by an article, in the same magazine, written by Modi's advisor, Manoj Ladwa titled, "Modi united India like no PM in decades" in the May 30 2019 issue of "Time" magazine.
Honours from Foreign governments.
Modi has received honours from countries such as Afghanistan and Saudi Arabia in the year 2016. In 2018, he also received highest civilian order by Palestine on his state visit. In 2019, after second win in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, he received honours from UAE, Russia, Maldives and Bahrain. In the year end of 2020, the United States government awarded him with Legion of Merit.