Between 1 October and 12 December 2018, Twitter saw more than 70 lakh Tweets in relation to the #AssemblyElections2018. From breaking news, to behind the scenes action, to political parties, candidates and citizens engaging on all the hot election topics, Twitter gave Indian citizens a front row seat to the #AssemblyElections2018 conversation across the states of Chhattisgarh, Mizoram, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Telangana.
Throughout these Indian state elections campaigns, politicians and political parties used Twitter to communicate with people in their states and all over the country. The parties’ official positions and announcements around policies and key social issues accounted for some of the top-Tweeted moments in the past two months, as voters went to the polls.
In addition to key national and state political voices, Indians on Twitter participated in dynamic conversations at a grassroots level around the state elections. The rural economy emerged as the most talked-about election-related topic since October 1.
Across the nation, PM Narendra Modi (@NarendraModi) and Rahul Gandhi @RahulGandhi emerged as the most mentioned leaders during the #AssemblyElections2018 conversation on Twitter.
Across the state elections, Vasundhara Raje (@vasundharabjp) emerged as the most-mentioned political candidate. Within the various states:
Political commentators also played a key role in driving the broader conversation around election issues, with Rubika Liyaquat (@rubikaliyaquat) being the top-mentioned commentator for the #AssemblyElections2018 conversation on Twitter.
Amongst all BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) official accounts on Twitter, @BJP4Rajasthan had the maximum share of voice, and amongst the INC (Indian National Congress) official accounts on Twitter, @INCMP had the maximum share of voice.
Engaging Indians across the country in the Election Conversation on Twitter
As part of #AssemblyElections2018, Twitter launched several initiatives for Indians to provide real-time updates on the campaign trail, connect voters to politicians on the most important election issues, and to have their voices heard. In addition to a customized emoji, Twitter also conducted capacity building workshops with political parties in election states so as to share best practices, account safety and reporting tools. These workshops were attended by key leaders, IT cell members and social media warriors of the party.
In the lead up to the State Elections, Twitter partnered youth organization @YouthKiAwaaz in hosting a series of #DemocracyAdda Youth Summits in a number of cities across India. Read more here.
In Hyderabad, Twitter partnered with YLAC (Young Leaders for Active Citizenship) for a #FutureOfTelangana event - the event focussed on involving young audiences to draw their agenda for all political parties in Telangana - followed by a panel discussion with representative from every party. Youngistan and Rubaroo were the local partners. Read more here.
In addition, we organized a live Q&A series called #ElectionsOnTwitter where citizens could have direct access and conversation with their leaders on a regular basis. Rajasthan Congress President @SachinPilot and Telangana IT Minister @KTRTRS were among the first to join the Twitter Q&A with voters, answering questions on key issues affecting the state.
For more on the #ElectionsOnTwitter, follow @TwitterIndia and @MomentsIndia on the latest happenings and #SeeEverySide of the election conversation with our news partners on the platform. More here.
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