Modi most followed on Twitter, Kejriwal biggest gainer

Image
Press Trust of India New Delhi
Last Updated : Apr 13 2014 | 1:55 PM IST
BJP's Narendra Modi remains the 'most-followed' Indian politician on Twitter by a wide margin of over 15 lakh followers, but it's AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal who has gained the most with about 6.3 lakh new followers in just over last three months.
With Twitter emerging as a major campaign-ground for the first time for Lok Sabha elections, all major parties and leaders are using this platform and other social networks to reach out to the people, especially the young population which is present on these online forums in a big way.
According to latest data compiled by Twitter India, the Indian unit of US-based microblogging giant, BJP's Prime Ministerial candidate has now close to 3.7 million followers -- the highest for any Indian politician.
Modi has a lead of more than 1.5 million over second- ranked Shashi Tharoor, a Congress leader with 2.13 million followers.
Kejriwal (1.62 million) comes third, followed by Manmohan Singh (1.17 million) at fourth, BJP's Sushma Swaraj in the fifth spot (1.03 million) and beauty queen-turned-politician Gul Panag at sixth (0.83 million), Twitter data shows.
Subramaniam Swamy of BJP is at seventh (0.49 million), J&K chief minister Omar Abdullah is ranked eighth (0.48 million), Ajay Maken of Congress at ninth (0.27 million) and Kumar Vishwas of AAP at 10th (0.25 million).
The top 20 club also includes Smriti Irani, Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Derek O'Brien, Varun Gandhi and Meenkashi Lekhi, among others, shows the data as on April 12, 2014.
However, when it comes to the rise in number of followers since January 1, 2014 -- a period also marked with increased political activities -- Kejriwal, who headed Delhi government for 49 days after his AAP rewrote history in assembly polls last year, has seen over 6.29 lakh additional followers.
Modi comes a close second with 6.28 lakh new followers in the same period, followed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh (1.8 lakh), Sushma Swaraj (1.76 lakh), Kumar Vishwas (1.28 lakh) and Shashi Tharoor (1.26 lakh) among the top-20 politicians, shows the data from the micro-blogging site.
*Subscribe to Business Standard digital and get complimentary access to The New York Times

Smart Quarterly

₹900

3 Months

₹300/Month

SAVE 25%

Smart Essential

₹2,700

1 Year

₹225/Month

SAVE 46%
*Complimentary New York Times access for the 2nd year will be given after 12 months

Super Saver

₹3,900

2 Years

₹162/Month

Subscribe

Renews automatically, cancel anytime

Here’s what’s included in our digital subscription plans

Exclusive premium stories online

  • Over 30 premium stories daily, handpicked by our editors

Complimentary Access to The New York Times

  • News, Games, Cooking, Audio, Wirecutter & The Athletic

Business Standard Epaper

  • Digital replica of our daily newspaper — with options to read, save, and share

Curated Newsletters

  • Insights on markets, finance, politics, tech, and more delivered to your inbox

Market Analysis & Investment Insights

  • In-depth market analysis & insights with access to The Smart Investor

Archives

  • Repository of articles and publications dating back to 1997

Ad-free Reading

  • Uninterrupted reading experience with no advertisements

Seamless Access Across All Devices

  • Access Business Standard across devices — mobile, tablet, or PC, via web or app

More From This Section

First Published: Apr 13 2014 | 1:55 PM IST

Next Story