PM Modi crosses 100 million followers on Instagram, a first for any world leader

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday crossed a major milestone on Instagram, surpassing 100 million followers and becoming the first world leader and politician to achieve the feat on the platform.

PM Modi joined Instagram in 2014 and currently has more than double the followers of US President Donald Trump. In fact, the combined follower count of the next five prominent world leaders still falls short of PM Modi’s individual tally. Donald Trump ranks second with 43.2 million followers, followed by Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto with 15 million, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva with 14.4 million, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan with 11.6 million, and Argentine President Javier Milei with 6.4 million.

Within India too, PM Modi maintains a commanding lead over other political leaders. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath holds the second position with around 16.1 million followers, while Rahul Gandhi follows with approximately 12.6 million.

Meanwhile, PM Modi is on a two-day official visit to Israel. During the visit, the Israeli Parliament conferred upon him the “Speaker of the Knesset Medal”, the highest honour of the Knesset. The award recognised his exceptional personal leadership in strengthening strategic ties between India and Israel.

The medal was presented after his address to the Israeli Parliament. Following the speech, PM Modi interacted with members of the Knesset, with several MPs taking selfies and photographs with him. His speech received a standing ovation and was punctuated by repeated applause.

In his address, the Prime Minister said there is deep admiration in India for Israel’s determination, courage and achievements. He noted that India and Israel share historical links dating back over two millennia, citing references to India as “Hodu” in the Book of Esther and mentions of ancient trade with India in the Talmud.