‘Is all that worth it just in hope of making it difficult for a future Headley to recce? R we going 2 allow terrorists 2 make us less welcoming’, ‘Absolutely, in cattle class out of solidarity with all our holy cows’ These are some of the popular tweets by India’s most social web savvy parliamentarian Shashi Tharoor, who despite his controversial tweets remains the most influential Indian in social media with around more than 13 lakh followers on Twitter, according to Pinstorm, an India-based search-marketing firm based in India.
So what makes Shashi Tharoor popular? Television anchor Vineet Malhotra and follower of Tharoor on Twitter says, “Most politicians in our country are actors who stay in character as long as they need a favour from the public but Shashi is a politician with a difference. Indian youth crave for someone who can inspire them. Twitter makes him approachable and that’s how Tharoor has been able to impress them.”
Seconds Tarun Vaid, an employee with Snapdeal.com, “Tharoor is influential but whenever he has tweeted, he has got brickbats from the public and his political counterparts too. His cattle class tweet stirred a row and he had to resign from as the Minister of External Affairs when he went into a tweet battle over Kochi IPL with Lalit Modi. However, on the flip side, he is among a few politicians who have made his presence felt on Twitter.”
Aman Kapoor, a media professional adds that Tharoor is not afraid to speak his mind. “Tharoor kicked a storm with hic cattle class tweet. Tharoor’s daring tweet about “call to work on Gandhi Jayanti” was another one. Although his tweets irked his fellow cabinet colleagues on many occassions, but that didn’t stop him from being honest.”
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