LS polls a macrocosm of the best of twitter in India: Rishi Jaitly

This year till May 16, there were 58 million tweets regarding Indian elections, says Jaitly

Describing the just concluded Lok Sabha elections as a microcosm of the best of Twitter in India, the social media giant has now set the ambitious target of reaching out to every citizen of the country.

In the just concluded elections, wherein Twitter very often became the source of news for millions of people, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi leading from the front, Twitter experienced a phenomenal growth.

For instance, in the entire of 2013 there were about 25 million tweets about elections, governance and politics.

"This year till May 16, the counting day, there were 58 million tweets regarding Indian elections," Rishi Jaitly, India market director of Twitter, told PTI.

He was in the US on a visit - the first after the polls, which he described as India's first Twitter election.

"It is our fastest growing market in the world. It is our most strategic market," Jaitly said.

"Twitter in India is working on distribution and its accessibility to the people, so as to reach out to every citizen of the country. The thrust of our work has been growth, growth and growth," he said.

"I think, the Lok Sabha election of 2014 is a macrocosm of the best of twitter in India," Jaitly said.

Responding to questions, he acknowledged that Modi, as the prime ministerial candidate, played a key role in the expansion of Twitter in India, along with other major players like Arvin Kejriwal of the Aam Admi party.

"In Modi, we have a leader who understands what Twitter is about. That is about personal communication through mobile," he said. "This is why he has set many record on Twitter in India."

And now he is replying directly to world leaders, he added. Conversation on Twitter about politics and elections, governance and public issues has always been at the top of the list, he noted.

In addition to political parties, leaders and candidates, there was hardly any media outlet which did not use Twitter as a means of dissemination of information. "Twitter became the platform where news broke during the election," he said.

Referring to the series of tweets by Modi during and after elections, Jaitly described them as "Twitter First" for breaking news.

"What we have seen in India is a world class use of Twitter by the users, who came to the platform in drove," he said.

Jaitly said the best practices from Indian elections are already being implemented by media outlets, political parties and candidates countries around the world.

"We are the world's only platform at scale that is live, that is public and conversation. That is what Twitter is," he said.