Hugh Jackman hug to selfie diplomacy: Here's a look at PM Modi's 'win' moments through the year

Narendra Modi’s social media strategy was the highlight of  2014 as well as the better half of 2015. So there’s really no doubting that our Prime Minister has had a few major wins in his first year in office. Since Modi took over the office of the Prime Minister last year, he has successfully used Twitter, Facebook and other social media forums to  engage in diplomacy and build his image in a way few other global leaders have.  It’s no surprise that most of his announcements now come in 140-character messages. One of his major wins  was getting 177 countries to become co-sponsors and to declare 21 June 2015 as International World Yoga Day. Modi also got them to pass the proposal within a record time of 75 days. Modi has always spoken about the benefits of yoga. “Yoga is an invaluable gift of India’s ancient tradition. It embodies unity of mind and body, thought and action, restraint and fulfillment, harmony between man and nature, a holistic approach to health and well-being,” he had said at the UN last year.

Over the past year, Modi has acquired a fan base on Twitter that is unparalleled, becoming the second most-followed world political leader on Twitter after US President Barack Obama. Modi’s personal account, @narendramodi, has over 12 million followers. That is more than Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has 6.3 million followers. Pope Francis has 6 million followers in English and nearly 9 million for his Spanish account.

Cut to his most recent foreign trip and we have PM Modi, AKA Mr Cool looking at some ancient terracotta Army soldiers  wearing his Matrix style in black sunglasses. He was trending on social media within a matter of minutes and the images went viral faster than when Kim Kardashian broke the intenet with her famous bottom.  The PM’s Office Twitter feed also tweeted out a picture of Modi signing the visitor’s book, with his glasses still on. Being the Prime Minister Modi has often been under the scanner for his fashion choices. Remember his monogrammed pinstripped suit  during Obama’s visit in January? Well, being the image manager he is, Modi eventually auctioned the suit for a sum of Rs 4.31 crore.

Remember the time Hugh Jackman gave Modi a bear sized hug during the latter’s trip to America?  And the time our PM confused the X Men franchise with the Star Wars one and told Hugh Jackman “May the force be with you?” Modi’s little hug session with Wolverine is definitely in the “win” category.

Narendra Modi’s first order of business after becoming Prime Minister was to lock down his trip to the US which was seen as an epic show of political, social and economic clout, all culminating in a show of strength at Times Square in New York where he held a public rally for overseas Indians. From chants of “Modi, Modi” and “Bharat Mata ki Jai” India and the world had never seen this kind of a reception for an Indian Prime Miister outside of the country. As Modi who walked up on stage slowly, 100 hours into his Navratri fast, the 18,000-plus audience erupted in whoops and cheers. He also spoke publicly in Toronto, China, Mongolia, Germany and the UN General Assembly, often choosing Hindi as his medium of speech rather than English.

On his recent trip, while meeting Mongolia’s President Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj, Modi played a Mongolian cello or Morin Khuur . “The morin khuur, music and Mongolia…a unique gift from President @elbegdorj,” Modi tweeted. He even shot an arrow from a traditional bow in Mongolia. Dressed in traditional Mongolian costume, topped with a sola hat and accompanied by Mongolian Premier Chimed Saikhanbileg, Modi held the bow and shot an arrow with confidence. It’s not the first time Modi has turned into a musical genius on an overseas tour. In September, he performed a Taiko drum solo in an impromptu jam session at the inauguration of the Technology and Culture Academy in Tokyo. Soft power in China’s own backyard, hats off Prime Minister, you just won this round in Mongolia. China -0 India -1.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, French President Francois Hollande as well as French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius and senior French government officials spent a romantic evening in Paris and went on a boat ride along the Seine river. Senior government officials termed the"nav pe charcha"  as a resounding success. Modi had earlier held a “chai pe charcha” when US President Barack Obama had visited New Delhi in January. The evening was celebratory as Modi had only hours before announced inking of 17 agreements with France as well as the  purchase of  36 Rafale fighter jets. Be it Chai Pe Charcha or  Nav Pe Charcha, keep the deals coming Mr Modi.

At the G20 Summit in Brisbane, Narendra Modi was charmed by a special Australian welcome - a cuddly koala bear. The grey cuddly bundle was brought up to the PM by an Australian official backstage at the G20  Summit when the leaders were taking a break. Modi with a big smile patted the koala bear as Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott looked on smilingly next to him. However, Modi was not the only one to be charmed by the Australian marsupial, or pouched mammal. Russian President Vladimir Putin, a wildlife lover, cuddled a koala too. Putin picked up a koala bear in his arms, while Abbott held one in similar fashion backstage at the G20 summit. US President Barack Obama and Abbott posed with koala bears in their arms. German Chancellor Angela Merkel too “tangled” with a koala backstage. If you can’t make a cute fashion statement at a gathering of world leaders then where can you?

From Modi calling the US President by his first name at a joint speech to Obama calling Modi India’s “reformer-in-Chief”, the two clearly have a budding bromance Obama has described Modi’s life story “from poverty to Prime Minister” as one that reflects the dynamism and potential of India’s rise. “Like India, he transcends the ancient and the modern-a devotee of yoga who connects with Indian citizens on Twitter and imagines a ‘digital India’,” the US President wrote in Time. Is this one bromance that will stand the test of time? Only time will tell, but for now it’s safe to say the heads of the two largest democracies in the World probably have each other on speed dial.

Selfie diplomacy in China

It's selfie time! Thanks Premier Li. pic.twitter.com/DSCTszSnq3

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 15, 2015

Hundreds of selfies have been uploaded on the internet in the first year of PM Modi in the office, many by the prime minister himself, many more by people who had a chance to click a one with him. But the best of them has to be on the PM’s most recent trip to China where he took one with the Chinese PM Li Keqiang. The western media completely lapped this up, with the WSJ also calling it the “most powerful selfie” ever taken. According to them, “two of the most powerful people in countries with a combined population of around 2.5 billion people—more than one-third of humanity– in the same frame with no official photographer involved.”