‘Those followed by the PM claim proximity to him, which may or may not be true’.
New Delhi: Top leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party have called for a more “open” and “inclusive” approach regarding the way in which the Twitter accounts of top party leaders, including the accounts of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the party, are operated.
Informed party leaders, working in various posts, said that the Twitter handle of PM Narendra Modi (@narendramodi), the operations of which the PM had entrusted to a few of his trusted men, should follow more party leaders and workers who work for the party.
They stated that right now, the process to decide whom the PM should follow is not based on any merit, but on the discretion of a few individuals.
Explaining the process how it is decided which Twitter handles the PM should follow, an informed party functionary said, “The first way is that the names (Twitter handles) that the BJP social media managers think should be followed by the PM, are compiled and sent to the official who handles the PM’s personal handle (Hiren Joshi). The second way is that influential party leaders and bureaucrats request/suggest the officials concerned at the PMO for a follow from the PM’s handle and then it happens. The whole process is very informal which had led to a certain amount of resentment among party office bearers and party leaders as they, despite doing more work on the ground, are not followed by their PM,” a senior party functionary said.
According to him, the PM completely relies on his officials to decide on whom to follow and whom not to and media reports that it is the PM who chooses whom to follow and whom not to, were completely false.
Of the 2,381 people that Narendra Modi’s handle @narendramodi follows, many of them are neither a part of the BJP nor do they have any large traction on Twitter with some having less than 1,000 followers.
“There is nothing logical that explains why the PM’s personal handle should follow some of the Twitter accounts that it presently follows. A follow by the PM on Twitter is a like a badge of honour for the party workers and it would be great for the common party workers if a transparent and open process is there to decide who the PM’s handle should follow,” a party functionary said.
Another party functionary recalled that the process of the PM’s Twitter handle following nondescript handles started in 2016 when the BJP social media team realised that the party’s traction was decreasing on Twitter.
“A follow by the Twitter handle of the PM became an incentive which pushed party-affiliated social media warriors to do more on Twitter. And once a ‘normal’ individual was followed by the PM, it pushed such handles to do more for the party in the hope that the PM handle will follow him or her. Once a PM handle follows an individual, automatically his or her value in social media increases,” he said.
The party’s handle “BJP4India” only follows three users, Prime Minister Modi, present party chief Amit Shah and the next party chief J.P. Nadda. “Ideally, the party handle should follow all senior leaders and party functionaries, but then again, since there is no formal process or rules and regulations to decide whom to follow and the criteria to be adopted, it is decided by a closed group of individuals,” he said. As per the party’s official stand, it has 18 crore members.
“There are more than 300 Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha MPs—scores of heads of various wings of the party, but not everyone is followed by the PM’s handle. Those who are followed by the PM on Twitter claim close proximity to the PM, which may or may not be true,” the party functionary added.
According to another party functionary, who is part of the BJP social media team, which journalists the PM’s handle should follow, too, is decided by Hiren Joshi. “There is no hard and fast rule. Everything is on the discretion of the people in the PMO. The PM trusts them to do the right thing,” he said. Joshi, who is presently working as an OSD (Communications and IT) in the PMO, has been working for the PM since 2008.
According to party sources, the present head of BJP social media, Amit Malviya, is likely to be replaced when the next party president J.P. Nadda constitutes his own team in the coming months. Malviya is likely to be given a bigger role in the party for the “exemplary work” he has done ever since assuming the present position in 2012-13.