New Delhi: This is a competition Congress MP Shashi Tharoor doesn’t mind losing. The Thiruvananthapuram lawmaker, who enjoys a massive following on Twitter thanks to his love for language, is no longer the most followed Congress leader on Twitter. That tag has been wrested by his party president Rahul Gandhi.
As on Sunday, Rahul Gandhi enjoyed a following of 6.77 million on the micro-blogging site, while Tharoor had 6.7 million followers. Given the dynamic nature of social media following, the number may tilt back in favour of Tharoor in coming weeks, but the current standing is a welcome change for the Congress ahead of Karnataka elections 2018.
A screenshot of Rahul Gandhi's Twitter account.
A screenshot of Shashi Tharoor's Twitter account.
The party, however, would be hoping that the number crunch remains in Rahul’s favour as it is the party chief who is expected to be more popular than other leaders.
A Times of India report quoted Tharoor as saying that he felt a sense of “vindication”. “It is only fitting. And as one who has been urging him for years to be on Twitter and to be himself there, I feel a certain sense of vindication.”
The report also quoted the Congress’ social media head Divya Spandana as saying that Rahul’s popularity was rising across social media platforms.
Speaking to News18, Congress leader Sharmistha Mukherjee pointed out that Tharoor was among the first politicians in India to join Twitter. “Shashi Tharoor ji was one of the first leaders to use Twitter and has a great social media following. It is indeed a matter of happiness that Rahul Gandhi ji has surpassed Mr. Tharoor on Twitter. We all want him to be the most followed leader everywhere.”
“It is because of Rahul Gandhi's tweets and the stances he is taking on issues of public importance. He is one person who is speaking truth to power. There is disillusionment on the streets and he is the only person resonating with the public. People are warming up to him,” she said.
Rahul Gandhi had changed his Twitter handle from @OfficeofRahulGandhi to @RahulGandhi weeks after taking over as Congress president from mother Sonia Gandhi.
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