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Modi's foresight, Kejriwal's drive for change and Rahul's persistence impresses voters

However, Modi surpasses both Kejriwal and Gandhi when it comes to having a vision for the country

Somesh Jha New Delhi
Last Updated : Apr 22 2014 | 7:25 PM IST
When it comes to taking risks, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief Arvind Kejriwal leaves Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP)’s Prime Minister candidate Narendra Modi and Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi far behind.

However, Modi surpasses both Kejriwal and Gandhi when it comes to having a vision for the country when “he presents a decisive new picture of India”.

A survey conducted on personality traits of these three leaders contesting the Lok Sabha elections by Jombay, a Pune-based talent measurement and talent analytics company reveals these facts.1,000 respondents across the country were involved in the survey carried out after the fourth phase of the on-going LS elections on some key traits of these leaders such as foresight, initiative, social confidence, tolerance to stress, etc. The leaders compared were Rahul Gandhi, Arvind Kejriwal and Narendra Modi.

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While Modi is ahead of the other two when it comes to smart problem- solving abilities and confidence, he lags behind both of them in being humble, considerate and dependable.

Kejriwal is portrayed as most dependable among others but was marked poorly in terms of taking decisions (only 54% people think he is decisive compared to 85% and 57% in case of Modi and Gandhi respectively) – a backlash effect of his resignation from the Delhi government.

“Kejriwal's resignation from Chief Minister’s post proved that his risk taking ability is the highest (91.8%) among the three candidates. 87% of the respondents believe that Kejriwal has better intent and drive for change, while only 77% backed Modi and Rahul,” noted the survey.

However, both Kejriwal and Modi were not projected as people who could handle criticism well and Gandhi -- after a dismal UPA-II term -- leads the pack in this domain as 59% of respondents regard him as most open to criticism and accepting failure.

Though Gandhi outperforms others in persistence with 87% people marking him more on this, it is only one among few criteria where he succeeds. Around 34% of the people do not consider Gandhi capable of being a great leader.

“This is unfortunate that there was a time when everyone from renowned intellectuals to the poor farmers of the country had pinned their hopes on Rahul Gandhi. But with only 10 years in politics he is seen as inexperienced,” the survey pointed out.

Modi is seen by many as a master problem solver. 81% of the voters felt Modi had better problem solving abilities and is also able to convince the voters in a better way than his counterparts.

A survey conducted by Jombay firm polled 1,000 people after the fourth phase of the Lok Sabha elections on personality and leadership potential of Arvind Kejriwal, Narendra Modi and Rahul Gandhi.
Qualities Arvind Kejriwal (%) Narendra Modi (%) Rahul Gandhi (%)
Visionary      
Foresight 62 84.8 56
Drive for Change 87.8 77.4 76.4
Smart Problem Solving 59.2 81.2 57
Initiative 85 84.2 73.2
                                                                                     Charismatic
Social Confidence 85.6 91.2 66.6
Convincing 74.4 76 48.2
Dependability 68.6 60.6 65.2
Networking / Building Long-term relations 83.6 86 71.2
                                                                                          Resolute
Acceptance to Failure and Criticism 49.4 51.2 59
Managing Stress and Emotions 61.8 71.4 66.8
Persistence 69.8 74.4 87.4
 People Person      
People Understanding 81.6 77.8 77.4
Considerateness 84.4 71 84.2
Humility 81 67.8 85
                                                                                       The X - Factor
Assertiveness 90.8 90.8 48.6
Decisiveness 53.8 85.6 56.8
Risk Taking 91.8 80.8 54.8
Leadership Material 85.6 86.8 65.6

“His decisiveness, clarity of thought, personal integrity and missionary zeal is felt to be beyond doubt. Because of these unique selling propositions 87% people think Modi’s X-factor is his leadership quality,” said the study.

However, 49% still feel that he does not accept failure wholeheartedly and 40% think that he is less dependable than the others.

While on one hand, Kejriwal with his understanding skills and considerateness is believed to be a people’s person, Modi’s confidence, conviction and ability to build long-term relations makes him more charismatic.

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First Published: Apr 22 2014 | 7:16 PM IST

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