Mayawati, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) national president and former Uttar Pradesh chief minister, has joined social media giant Twitter. Announcing her presence on the micro-blogging site, the party said in a press statement that it is to speed up Mayawati's 'interaction with media and masses'.
She tweets from the handle @SushriMayawati.
As per the data on Twitter, the handle has been active from January 22. The handle has shared BSP's press release since then besides her wishes on Republic day.
The account has so far gained more than 15,000 followers, and following only 'Twitter Support'. Her profile pic seems to be old, might be taken from some posters. A poster featuring herself holding two copies of her recently published book 'A Travelogue of My Struggle-ridden Live and BSP Movement' was put as the cover photo.
Though a couple of independent entities, the Bahujan Samaj Party doesn't have an official Twitter account. This is considered as an effort from the party to reach out people, especially young audience ahead of Lok Sabha elections.
According to sources in the BSP, the party was also in the process of creating a dedicated website to spread information on its programmes.
"The process of creating the website is on... it is expected to be ready very soon," said a BSP leader here.
The Twitter account provides the link to Mayawati's website which is under construction. "Coming Soon! My Website is currently under construction. Thanks for your patience," reads the intro of http://sushrimayawati.in.
Mayawati was opposed to taking to social media, and just a few days ago had refuted reports that she had accounts on Facebook and Twitter.
She had even asked her supporters to be wary of such "fake" social media accounts.
"Mayawati has finally realised that social media is a powerful tool to connect to people," remarked a media analyst here after the BSP supremo joined the Twitter.
The party made a tie-up with Samajwadi Party to contest in upcoming general elections together in the state. The joint effort of both parties in by-elections has proved successful by wresting key constituencies from BJP.
Almost all Indian political leaders are active on Twitter and other social media sites, among them prime minister Narendra Modi has the highest number of followers. Congress president Rahul Gandhi has been gaining popularity with his regular tweets taunting Modi and his government.
Among the women leaders, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Union Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj are most popular. Defence Minister Nirmala Seetharaman, Union Textile minister Smriti Irani and former Rajasthan chief minister Vasundhara Raje are other active women leaders on Twitter.
However, The newly appointed AICC General Secretary, Priyanka Gandhi yet to open a Twitter account.
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