This man just won TIME's 'Person of the Year' reader's poll

The magazine said Indian premier won 18 per cent of the votes during the readers' poll

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has won the online reader’s poll for TIME Person of the Year, beating out other world leaders, artists and politicians including Barrack Obama.

Although the final person of the year is to be decided on December 7, the poll is indicative of who is among the most influential figures in the world.

The poll results have put Modi ahead of US President Barack Obama and President-elect Donald Trump.



According to Time Magazine, Modi won the slot garnering 18 per cent of the vote when the poll came to a conclusion on Sunday night.

The premier clinched the award with an overwhelming margin with his competitors including Wikileaks founder, Julian Assange, Mark Zuckerberg and Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton. All of the aforementioned were believed to be in close competition with one another.

Modi has remained prominent on the list ever since he assumed power in 2014. Firstly, the premier won Time Readers' Choice Poll  in 2014 followed by appearance on the cover on May 2015. Modi was also voted 8th Person of the Year poll during the same year.



Modi winning the award is believed to hold particular importance this year against the backdrop of prevailing anger and dismay over the demonetisation in the country.

On November 24, former Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh severely criticised his successor Narendra Modi for scrapping the 500 and 1,000 rupee banknotes, calling it an “organised loot and legalised plunder” of the country.

Singh then went on to dub Modi’s move to a “monumental mismanagement” that could tear off at least two percentage points off economic growth.

This article originally appeared on India Times