A presidential campaign in the United States exposed deep-seated fissures and led to the election of a president without precedent in the nations history. It remains to be seen if Modi will maintain his lead as votes polled may change by the time voting on the readers choice poll ends on December 4.For the fourth year in a row, Modi is among the contenders for Times Person of the Year honour, which the US publication bestows every year to the one "who has most influenced the news and our world in the past year, for good or ill.

According to initial votes cast in the readers poll, Modi is leading with 21 per cent voting in his favour.Time also analysed the moments from 2016 when this years poll contenders were most talked about.."In 2016, the news and our world were subject to a wide range of influences.Time said the reader poll is an "important window" into who they think most shaped 2016.While each year Times editors make the ultimate decision as to who from among world leaders, presidents, protesters, astronauts, pop icons and disrupters should be person of the year, it also asks readers to cast their votes and decide who they think most shaped a particular year.Elsewhere, leaders like Vladimir Putin and Recep Tayyip Erdogan commanded the spotlight on a global stage," Time said." Last year German Chancellor Angela Merkel was Times Person of the Year. He was again among the contenders for the annual honour in 2015 but was not among the final eight candidates shortlisted by Time magazine editors for the title.However, Modi has so far got 21 per cent votes, way ahead of Putins 6 per cent, Obamas 7 per cent and Trumps 6 per cent.Modi had won the readers poll of Times Person of the Year in 2014, securing more than 16 per cent of the almost five million votes cast.Among the contenders this year are former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, FBI Chief James Comey.

Apple CEO Tim Cook, parents of slain Muslim-American soldier Humanyun Khan, Khizr and Ghazala Khan, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, British Prime Minister Theresa May and Chinese leader Xi Jinping. For Modi it was October 16, when the Indian leader had suggested during a summit of BRICS nations in Goa that Pakistan is the "mothership" for terrorism.New York: Prime Minister Narendra Modi is leading an online poll of readers choice for Time magazines Person of the Year in 2016 honour, which has contenders like US China aluminum tilt-turn window factory President-elect Donald Trump, the outgoing US leader Barack Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin. For a while Wikileaks founder Julian Assange had overtaken Trump for the lead in the online poll, getting 10 per cent of all the "yes" votes cast by participants, Time had said.