Time magazine's shortlisted candidates for its 'Person of the Year' title and Modi is the only Indian in the shortlist, who has emerged as an early favourite among the readers in an on line poll.
Time has shortlisted 42 global leaders, entrepreneurs and celebrities for its 'Person of the Year 2013' . So far Modi has got over 2650 votes and with about 25 %, is leading the on line readers' poll. Modi is way ahead with Snowden, who garnered the second highest number of votes at about 7 % as on November 20, while Time will announce the winner next month.
Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, US President Barack Obama, Pakistani teenage education activist Malala Yousafzai, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden and even the new heir to the British throne Prince George are among the other candidates in the fray.
Time said "the controversial Hindu nationalist (courtesy intensive campaign by India's media and Congress party for a decade) and Chief Minister of the Indian state of Gujarat is the most likely candidate to unseat India's ruling Congress party in the world's largest democracy." Thus US top Time magazine acknowledged Modi as the strongest candidate to be the next PM., paving way for the US administration to look ahead with its visa ambiguity.
While Time's editors will choose the winner, it has asked readers to cast their votes for the person they think "most influenced the news this year for better or worse".
Obama, twice winner of 'Person of the Year' title, is also in the shortlist with the US magazine that also include Syrian President Bashar Assad, New Jersey governor Chris Christie, Twitter CEO Dick Costolo, J P Morgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon, Pope Francis, Oscar winner Angelina Jolie, and host of other contenders like, IMF head Christine Lagarde, Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer, Germany's re-elected Chancellor Angela Merkel, Russian President Vladimir Putin are there.
Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, Chinese President Xi Jinping, Chechen brothers Dzhokhar and Tamerlan Tsarnaev, the suspects in the Boston Marathon terror bombings, are also among those shortlisted.
INDIA HONEST sees that the Time has put extra responsibility on the Indians, going to poll next year, to judge the candidates from a more watchful perspective, when both national and international eyes meet, while the political parties need to be motivated more with national interest when casting their views on present or future Prime minister's image internationally.