Welcoming the decision, RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav tweeted Tuesday, “Finally glad to see you here. Happy that you acknowledged and respected my request of joining Twitter during our meeting in Lucknow on 13th January. Warm Regards” .With Lok Sabha elections round the corner, BSP chief Mayawati has opened her official Twitter account. A statement released by the BSP office on Wednesday confirmed her official Twitter handle — @sushrimayawati. The statement said she decided to join Twitter for “speedy interaction with media and masses, besides expressing her views on various issues of national and political importance through Twitter.”
In her first tweet that appeared on January 22, Mayawati had written, “This is my opening and inauguration. @sushrimayawati is my official Twitter handle for all my future interactions, comments and updates.”
In another tweet, she had asked the users to connect with her directly and get party updates. When contacted, sources close to the leader said that besides widening the party’s reach, the step was intended to reduce the dependency on media for conveying its opinions and statements. It will also allow two-sided conversation with people, sources in the party said.
Welcoming the decision, RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav tweeted Tuesday, “Finally glad to see you here. Happy that you acknowledged and respected my request of joining Twitter during our meeting in Lucknow on 13th January. Warm Regards” .
The handle, which has around 39,800 followers, gained more than 33,000 of them on Wednesday after the official announcement came.
Unlike other political parties, the BSP did not have any social media presence. In July last year, after a website named “BSP Youth” allegedly run by one Devashish Jarariya, claiming to be a BSP member, surfaced, Mayawati had issued a clarification that her party does not have any official website and Twitter or Facebook accounts.
In 2017, denying the BSP’s Twitter presence, Mayawati had said that her party has been issuing press notes, especially in Hindi, so that it can be presented before the media and people in detail. “Twitter does not allow this facility,” she had said. Interestingly, all the 13 tweets in the handle were in English with some Hindi press notes.
Mayawati’s Twitter account also has a link to an under-construction website that has photos of her, some of which also feature SP chief Akhilesh Yadav.
