War of the 'shadow' handles

After the Congress’ Lok Sabha defeat in 2014, the party’s social media department had decided on a strategy where it started 19 Twitter handles to “shadow” some of the important ministries. The handles were to act as watchdogs on the Narendra Modi government’s work. Volunteers were to handle these accounts and post comments and articles in consultation with senior party leaders. 

The effort was a non-starter. Now, with the Modi government facing criticism on several issues, particularly its handling of the economy, the party plans to revive these Twitter handles. Predictably, the”'shadow finance ministry” handle, @FinMinIndShadow, has become the most active handle.

Others that have become vibrant are the shadow handles for the human resource development Ministry, agriculture ministry and the external affairs ministry. These handles post newspaper reports and analyses critical of the government; the agriculture ministry handle has also started posting farmer protests and related events. 

The volunteers are spread across the country.