Not only India but he is ‘Modi’fying the whole world! Prime Minister Narendra Modi tops the polls of Person of the Year 2016 conducted annually by the magazine master – TIME.
Although it is the magazine editors who give in the final name (which will be announced on December 7th), the online polls show the popular opinion of the readers around the world. And looking at the majestic margin that Narendra Modi has won by, we may very well see him on the cover of the December issue. Mr. Modi bagged 18% of the online votes, leaving far behind the likes of Barack Obama, Julian Assanage, etc., who all received around 7% of the votes apiece. Down the list you could even find some other prominent public figures like Hilary Clinton (4% votes) and Mark Zuckerberg (2%).
It is quite obvious Modi may top the list. He has been garnering quite a lot of attention and appreciation for the various initiatives he is taking to make India the fastest growing economy, a sustainable land and a nation to be reckoned with. His recent tours to different parts of the globe, meeting and greeting the world leaders are already hinting at the oncoming change of times for the country that is currently trying to swathe itself out of the sea of corruption and poverty. But ever since he has taken over, Mr. Modi has been passing bills and policies that are as controversial as commendable. The recent one of these was the much buzzed about Demonetization of the Rs. 500 and Rs. 1000 notes that had the hearts of the world racing all over. And the world is clamouring for more.
It is the fourth time that Modi is in the running for TIME’s ‘Person of the Year.’ This is in fact the second time that PM Modi has won the readers’ polls – the first time being in 2014 when he went on to clinch the title too. He then won the polls by 14% among the audience base of five million. In a cynical era, gaining such a popular vote is in itself is such a huge achievement, whether or not he gets the title again.
Last year, it was the German Chancellor Angela Markel who had taken home the title. We now have to just wait and see if it’s our beloved chaiwalla-turned-PM adorns TIME’s covers.
