A video clip from an interview of Narendra Modi with Rajeev Shukla was shared on Twitter by a user. In the video, Narendra Modi could be heard saying that he had become so fond of the internet that it kept him awake late at nights.
The interview was taken before Prime Minister Modi became the Chief Minister of Gujarat. He says in the clip, “I realised its potential… Computer, internet, information technology. Aur phir toh usme mann itna lag gaya ki kabhi raat ko der der tak main internet par khoya rehta hoon, bahut hi saari duniya ki cheezon par.. (I became so interested with it that sometimes, I used to be lost in the internet till late into the night, in things around the world.)”
Now that is a sentiment ‘millennials’ and ‘zoomers’ can relate to. On that note, Prime Minister’s awareness about the internet and social media came in handy during the campaign for the 2014 General Elections. He helped the Bharatiya Janata Party dominate social media, an advantage that the party holds to this day.
Despite the Congress party’s efforts to hire paid social media trolls to boost their efforts, in addition to having a sympathetic mainstream media, it has not quite been able to overcome Prime Minister Modi and the BJP’s social media dominance.