In the era of modernization, social media has significantly influenced politics in Bihar and across the country, especially over the past decade. Rather than wandering from village to city streets, politicians now focus on branding themselves and their parties from the comfort of their homes. Most politicians utilize social media to directly reach the masses with their messages. Social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter have become instrumental in political branding and campaigning.
Social media influencers are aiding political parties in influencing voters’ psychology. Prior to the announcement of Lok Sabha elections, all parties were busy strategizing their campaign tactics. As the election dates were announced, the pace of campaigning gradually picked up, with social media emerging as a prominent medium. Political parties are not only using WhatsApp, Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook to sway voters but also relying on social media influencers. Bihar, too, witnesses a significant impact of social media in politics.
Here’s a glimpse of the followers count of Bihar’s prominent leaders on Twitter:
– Chief Minister Nitish Kumar leads with 8.5 million followers.
– RJD Chief Lalu Prasad has 6.3 million followers.
– Former Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav has 5 million followers.
– Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Modi has 83.9 thousand followers.
– Deputy Chief Minister Vijay Sinha has 1.3 lakh followers.
– BJP’s senior leader Sushil Modi has 2.22 million followers.
– Shah Nawaz Hussain has 1.9 million followers.
– BJP’s Lok Sabha MP Giriraj Singh has 1.8 million followers.
– Tej Pratap Yadav has 1.6 million followers.
– Chirag Paswan has 848 thousand followers.
– JDU MP Sanjay Jha has 1.13 lakh followers.
– Minister Ashok Choudhary has 1.75 lakh followers.
– RJD MP Manoj Jha has 547 thousand followers.
On Facebook, the follower count stands as follows:
– Former Deputy CM Tejashwi Yadav leads with nearly 2.6 million followers.
– CM Nitish Kumar has 2 million followers.
– RJD Supreme Laloo Prasad has 1.3 million followers.
– BJP’s senior leader Sushil Modi has 1.2 million followers.
– Shah Nawaz Hussain has 761 thousand followers.
– LJP (R) Chief Chirag Paswan has 745 thousand followers.
– Tej Pratap Yadav has nearly 600 thousand followers.
– BJP MP Giriraj Singh also has more than 500 thousand followers.
Regarding Instagram followers:
– Tejashwi Yadav leads with 555 thousand followers.
– Tej Pratap Yadav has 533 thousand followers.
– Shah Nawaz Hussain has 151 thousand followers.
– Chirag Paswan has 534 thousand followers.
– Lalu Yadav has 74 thousand followers.
– CM Nitish Kumar has 59.5 thousand followers.
– Giriraj Singh has nearly 30 thousand followers.
All parties have prepared their war rooms and are actively working. BJP, JDU, and RJD have active war rooms for campaigning. JDU, in particular, aims to make social media a major medium for propaganda. Besides Narendra Modi, Bihar’s Sushil Modi, Vijay Sinha, and Samrat Chaudhary are also active on social media. In RJD, Tejashwi Yadav is notably very active on social media, while his party member Manoj Jha is also frequently seen on social media platforms.
