WASHINGTON (TIP): Amid speculation over a 2016 presidential bid by Louisiana’s Indian-American Governor Bobby Jindal, his approval rating has dropped to a low 38 per cent. According to a latest poll released on Tuesday, Jindal is even running behind US President Barack Obama, in his own state, where in recent weeks he has come up with some innovative measures like elimination of income tax and increasing sales tax.

Into the second term of his governorship, 41-year-old Jindal, who is receiving great attention at the national level, has an approval rating of 38 per cent. There has been quite a substantial drop from his 51 per cent approval rating in October, the poll said. Surprisingly, according to the poll conducted by Southern Media and Opinion Research, both Lieutenant Governor Jay Dardenne and US Senator David Vitter – both possible candidates for Jindal’s job in 2015 – had approval ratings near 60 per cent. “A number of issues contributed to Jindal’s low performance (in the poll), including state cuts to higher education and health care, plans to privatise the charity hospital system and the governor’s proposed state tax overhaul,” Southern Media and Opinion Research said in a statement.

Jindal’s spokesman said that the governor is focused on creating more jobs and improving the states’ economy. “We care more about the unemployment numbers than approval numbers, and right now, we still have too many Louisianans unemployed and underemployed,” Jindal’s spokesman Kyle Plotkin said. “That’s why our number one focus is growing the economy and creating jobs so that we can make Louisiana the best place in the world to raise a family and find a good paying job,” he said.