Bernie Sanders tops TIME 100 reader poll of most influential person

Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders has won the TIME 100 reader poll, topping not just rival Hillary Clinton but also a host of world leaders that include US President Barack Obama and Myanmarese democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi, as well as other eminent personalities.

Sanders finished with 3.3 percent of the total ‘yes’ votes when the poll closed at midnight on Thursday, bagging more than three times as many votes as former US Secretary of State Clinton.

South Korean boy band Big Bang came at second spot with 2.9 percent votes, while Suu Kyi was third with 2.2 percent, and Obama fourth with two percent.

Pakistani rights activist Malala Yousafzai, Lady Gaga, Taylor Swift, US First Lady Michelle Obama, Pope Francis and Leonardo DiCaprio round out the top 10.

Clinton, who is leading the Democrat race and is Sanders’ opponent for the Democratic Party nomination, finished with one percent of the ‘yes’ votes.

The list comprises names that “TIME readers think should appear on our annual list of the most influential people in the world”.

Sanders, who has long benefited from digitally active supporters, led the reader poll from the start. While he badly lags Clinton in winning the delegates needed to capture the presidential nomination, his populist rhetoric and emphasis on income inequality has allowed him to sustain a stronger-than-expected challenge to Clinton while also helping frame the debate in the Democratic contest, says TIME.

The TIME 100 comprises of world leaders, great minds in science and technology, outstanding figures in the arts and other icons of the moment. TIME’s editors ultimately choose the TIME 100, which will be announced on April 21.

Image – File photo (IANS)