Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has exceeded 100 million followers on Elon Musk’s X platform, making him the most-followed serving world leader.
Modi is currently the seventh most-followed person on the social media platform. The list is topped by Musk himself, who has 189 million followers. Former US President Barack Obama is the most-followed political figure, with 131 million followers.
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Modi is by far the most-followed Indian on X. The next highest is cricketer Virat Kohli with 63 million. The Indian premier is also way ahead of his political rivals, including Rahul Gandhi, who leads the opposition Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA). He and Arvind Kejriwal, chief minister of New Delhi and founder of the Aam Adam Party (AAP), both have around 26 million followers.
Commenting on the social media landmark, Modi said he was happy to “cherish the discussion, debate, insights, people’s blessings, constructive criticism, and more.” He said he was looking forward to an “equally engaging time” in the future.
Modi joined X, which was then called Twitter, in 2009, when he was serving as chief minister of the state of Gujarat. Both the prime minister and his cabinet ministers actively use the platform as a tool for engaging with citizens and opposition, as well for diplomatic communications.
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Modi’s strategy to follow thousands of party workers, supporters and citizens was questioned back in 2018, when local media claimed that he was following accounts described as “trolls,” which had been “accused of abuse and harassment online.”
Modi’s audience on the platform has increased by around 30 million in three years, according to Indian media reports. India is X’s third largest market after the US and Japan with around 26 million users, according to Statista.
Meanwhile, Modi has another 56 million X followers on his office’s official account ‘PMO India’. He also has a massive following on other social media platforms. Modi has over 47 million followers on Facebook, almost 25 million on YouTube, and over 91 million on Instagram.
According to US-based global decision intelligence agency Morning Consult, the Indian prime minister is the most popular global leader in the world, with an approval rating of 70%, ahead of Mexican leader Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador (62%), and Argentina’s Javier Milei (60%).
Last month, he won his third consecutive term as the prime minister of the world’s most populous country. However, unlike in 2014 and 2019, the Modi-led Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) failed to win an absolute majority in the parliament’s lower house and has had to depend on its allies to form a government.