PM Modi never fails to surprise the nation with his decisions, which usually remain a closely guarded secret until the announcement. The last six years of the Modi government have been replete with such surprises. PM Modi used social media to win the heart of Indian voters and came to power in 2014 riding on a wave of popularity and retained power in 2019.
On Monday, when PM Modi announced that he may quit social media, it shocked the country. PM Modi wrote that he will keep everybody posted. What comes next? Given his unpredictability, the guessing game would be pointless.
Two decades back, I remember BJP general secretary Narendra Modi using the internet for his campaigns and a small gadget to stay connected with officials while he flew in a Chopper as the Chief Minister. As a politician, Modi has consistently been technologically ahead of his contemporaries. The social media was one of the pillars on which his 2014 campaign was built.
That social media played a key role in rise of Narendra Modi is undeniable. Soon after his emergence to power, all officials were instructed to follow the social media route to connect to the people. It was PM Modi who inspired a generation of Indians to join social media platforms and by the end of Modi 1.0, he was the most followed political leaders on combined social media platforms. Now what prompted him to announce this step that stops short of announcing separation with social media?
It could be rumourmongers or it could be anything else. Experts say social media is a platform to vent one's frustration, which makes it essentially an anti-government platform. But this is too small a thing to force PM Modi on back foot.
Now, what lies in store when PM unveils his plans? Dissecting his tweet that said he is leaving social media platforms like Twitter, Youtube, Facebook, Instagram. There may be some other means of communicating with the people. A wild guess may be that PM Modi is launching India’s own social platform or communication.
Nobody is willing to do a guess with associates keeping cards close to their chest. Hence, we have to wait till Women's Day to see what PM Modi plans to do.
(Views are personal)
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