Prime Minister Narendra Modi wins reader’s poll for TIME ‘Person of the Year’

From a chaiwallah to the Prime Minister of the world’s fastest growing economy, Narendra Modi has come a long way. The recently held online reader’s poll for the TIME ‘Person of the Year’ projects him the winner, succeeding other global icons, politicians and artistes. The final results are scheduled to be announced on December 9.

On Sunday midnight, when the polling had closed, Modi was leading the run with 18 percent of the total votes. The other leaders in the race are the outgoing US President Barack Obama, US President-elect Donald Trump, Wikileaks co-founder Julian Assange with seven-percent positive response. With four percent, Hillary Clinton claimed her spot followed by Facebook honcho Mark Zuckerberg with two percent.

According to the reports, US First Lady Michelle Obama and Clinton were the most popular choices, with eight percent of “yes” in Washington D.C. Trump was leading in North Dakota, Mississippi, Alabama, Wisconsin and Louisiana.

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Modi, who took the nation by surprise with his demonetisation move, grabbed global attention for his firm stand on black money and defaulters. According to poll host Apester, Modi has been a clear favourite amongst Indian voters in the US.

This isn’t the first time that Modi has garnered such widespread attention. In 2014, he won the title with a lead of over 16 percent of the almost five million votes cast. This is the fourth year that Modi is a part of the ranking. Last year, German Chancellor Angela Merkel was Time’s ‘Person of the Year’.

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The TIME Most Influential Person of the Year is an annual rank list that applauds an individual for his or her global impact. The TIME editors, in partnership with Opentopic and IBM’S Watson, pick the winner based on their online presence. The final results will be judged by the editors of the magazine.