PM Narendra Modi becomes world’s most-followed leader on Instagram

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has become the most-followed world leader on Instagram. He gained 4 million new followers within just one week, taking his follower couch from 101 million to 105 million on Tuesday.

Buoyed by this massive outreach, the BJP has embarked on a concerted drive to turn to this tool to bolster its ties, especially with the youth following the recent NEET-UG paper leak controversy.

US President Donald Trump holds the second spot with 43.2 million followers. Modi is ahead of other Indian political leaders on Instagram. The second spot is held by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath with around 16.1 million followers.

Appreciating the effectiveness of Instagram, PM Modi in a Cabinet meeting last week, nudged and advised his colleagues to engage with the youth on Instagram through Reels and interactive sessions. “Young people are just on Instagram. Crores of young people use the platform every day. This is a potential segment of citizens that we all need to connect with,” he said. PM Modi said apart from apprising the masses about the work being done by the Union Government, ministers should also hold interactive sessions with the youth on this platform.

The Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), which led the student protests, has over 26 million followers on Instagram till now.

PM Modi, who has been using Instagram since 2014, gained around one million followers after uploading a midnight selfie video during the protests, taking his total following to about 105 million.

The BJP’s official Instagram account, with 9.5 million followers, is among the country’s most-followed political party handles. In recent days, it has been posting a series of reels centred on examination paper leaks, particularly highlighting alleged cases in Punjab.

Newly appointed Union Education Minister Pralhad Joshi has also used Instagram to highlight the Government’s response to the NEET paper leak controversy.

“We want to permanently strengthen the system and are completely ready for a healthy, facts-based debate in Parliament. Even Akhilesh Yadav and several Congress MPs have said this issue should be discussed in Parliament. Unfortunately, due to the ego of one individual, that debate is not taking place,” Joshi said in one of his posts.

While PM Modi’s videos were posted by all ministers on their Instagram, other posts have been mostly rare till a week back for many.

Former BJP president and Union Minister JP Nadda has shared videos highlighting meetings with the Cockroach Janta Party’s (CJP) spokespersons on the NEET issue.

Union Minister of State for PMO Jitendra Singh has posted clips on the introduction of the Bill to amend the anti-paper leak law, along with videos appealing to students to remain patient and asserting that the Government remained open to discussions during the protests held at Jantar Mantar.

In the case of Jitendra Singh, multiple posts have been made every day in the past one week, as against an average of four to five posts a week earlier.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju has also uploaded several videos centred on the Bill and the paper leak issue. His posts include excerpts from his speeches in Parliament urging political parties to debate and support the Bill, describing examination paper leaks as a “serious national issue” rather than a matter of party politics. While Rijiju has been among the more active ministers on Instagram, his activity has also gone up substantially now to over a dozen posts every day.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has posted a video highlighting the Government’s commitment to ensuring justice for the youth and bringing those responsible for examination paper leaks to justice through fast-track courts.

PM Modi on Sunday announced the constitution of a high-powered task force headed by Infosys co-founder Nandan Nilekani to recommend reforms to make the exam system leakproof. Union Minister Piyush Goyal has similarly posted videos highlighting the Government’s efforts to tackle examination paper leaks, including the provision for fast-track courts.

Women and Child Development Minister Annpurna Devi has used Instagram to focus on alleged examination and recruitment paper leaks in Jharkhand.

BJP IT department head Amit Malviya has also been among the party’s most active voices on Instagram during the anti-paper leak protests.