Rise in popularity: Narendra Modi's followers cross 8 million on Twitter

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi now has over 8 million followers on Twitter and is only behind US President Barack Obama and the Pope in popularity on the micro blogging site.

"Prime Minister Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) on Wednesday crossed the 8 million follower mark on Twitter," the popular social networking site said in a statement.

US President Barack Obama leads the popularity chart with over 43 million followers, followed by the Pope Francis, who is followed by over 14 million people on social site Twitter.

"Since his (Modi) election win in May earlier this year, the Prime Minister's Twitter account (@narendramodi) has doubled in followers adding more than 4 million followers," the statement said.

"His election victory Tweet remains the most retweeted Tweet of all time from India with 70,586 tweets," it said.

The Prime Minister continued innovating on social media as he became the first Prime Minister across the world to take a Twitter Mirror on tour with him, Twitter added.

Twitter Mirror is a backstage photo-booth for behind the scenes and exclusive moments involving celebrities and influencers for live events.

During his visit to Australia, Modi tweeted using the tool with Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott as well as students from Queensland University of Technology, Twitter said.