Modi crosses 50 million followers on Twitter

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi, known for reaching out to masses through social media, continues to be the most followed Indian on Twitter with his followers crossing the 50 million mark on the microblogging site.

The prime minister now stands tall among the world leaders on Twitter, with his handle @narendramodi a little behind that of United States President Donald Trump, who has 64 million followers.

Former US President Barack Obama remains on the first spot with over 108 million accounts following him.

No Indian politician is even close to Prime Minister Modi. Even the number of followers on the official Twitter handle of Prime Minister's Office has crossed 30 million.

Modi, who is quite famous for his oratory skills, is also very active on Twitter and regularly puts out texts on everything -- from his speeches at various platforms to the places he went and the people he met.

He started using the platform in 2009 when he was the chief minister of Gujarat and his popularity grew overwhelmingly as he assumed the office of prime minister in 2014.

Last year, an international survey ranked Modi among the top three leaders of the world.

An annual survey by Gallup International put Prime Minister Modi at number three among the global leaders.

The respondents in the survey, which was conducted among the people across 50 countries, rated Modi ahead of China's Xi Jinping, Russian President Vladimir Putin, then British Prime Minister Theresa May, Israel's Benjamin Netanyahu amongst others.

The top ranking in the survey went to German Chancellor Angela Merkel, followed by French President Emmanuel Macron.