Thane: Devendra Fadnavis, set to return as Maharashtra Chief Minister for the third time, used social media effectively which helped him reach out to large sections of digital audience compared to his peers, a political observer noted on Wednesday. The BJP leader is the "most-followed" politician from Maharashtra on social media, said Prasad Kulkarni, a Thane-based social media expert.
Following the BJP-led Mahayuti alliance's election victory last month, Fadnavis was elected as leader of the BJP legislature party earlier in the day, and would be sworn in as CM on Thursday evening.
Kulkarni told PTI that the BJP leader engaged with the electorate consistently, not just during election periods. Fadnavis has 59 lakh followers on X (earlier Twitter), 91 lakh on Facebook, 20 lakh on Instagram, 11 lakh subscribers on YouTube, and 55,000 followers on his WhatsApp channel, he said.
He, thus, has the highest engagement across all platforms among prominent political leaders in the state, said Kulkarni. The youth, who constitute a significant proportion of the electorate, have embraced digital platforms in large numbers, he noted.
When the assembly elections were announced, Fadnavis launched a daily campaign on social media, Kulkarni said. His social media posts unfailingly provided information about every public meeting or event of his. His team used animated graphics, customized songs, inspirational lyrics and even rap music, and also shared short videos from news channels.
Kulkarni pointed out that Fadnavis understood the strength of each social media platform. On X, he talked about serious issues, while on Instagram and Facebook, where party workers and ordinary people have more presence, he adopted a more aggressive and motivational tone. Unlike many politicians who use the same content across all platforms, Fadnavis ensured that each platform featured content tailored to its audience, Kulkarni added.
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