From Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to his rival Rahul Gandhi — A look at the top 10 Indian Twitter accounts that made 2018 interesting

2018 was a big year for politics on social media. From trading barbs to political mudslinging — it is safe to say 2018 was a year of agenda, propaganda and umpteen controversies. Opinions, debates, social campaigns kept our timelines kicking.

It was also a year where we lost some of our top politicians, including former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, DMK chief Karunanidhi and Somnath Chatterjee. Their contributions and controversies also made their way to Twitter.

While Indian politicians make their way to the top of the list in terms of social engagement; conversations around celebs are not too far behind. Films, actors, trailers, trends and big money were the talk of the town throughout the year.

Here are the 10 most talked-about Indian accounts on Twitter. More power to hashtags!

Narendra Modi (@narendramodi)

Followers: 44.7 million
Following: 2,069

With elections being an intrinsic part of public and political discourse Indian prime minister Narendra Modi’s Twitter account was the most popular account in 2018. His social commentary, foreign trips, photo-ops with heads of different countries made it to top Twitter conversations as well. This is the top retweeted tweet of the year from the account:



Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi)

Followers: 8.09 million
Following: 198

While Virat Kohli, captain of the Indian cricket team, accepted fitness challenge from sports minister Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, he also nominated PM Narendra Modi for the challenge. As sarcastic as it may seem, Rahul Gandhi, President, Indian National Congress (INC), challenged Modi to reduce fuel prices.
Here is his most retweeted tweet:


Amit Shah (@AmitShah)

Followers: 12.1 million
Following: 281

With three state elections debacle and a mammoth general election in the offing, BJP Amit Shah was a huge search with tweeples. Amid the political debates on last year’s Karnataka election, President of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Amit Shah, tweeted on the outcome of elections making it the most retweeted tweet from the account.


Yogi Adityanath (@myyogiadityanath)

Followers: 3.15 million
Following: 44

The Uttar Pradesh chief minister,Yogi Adityanath has been in controversy ever-since he was elected to the top seat in India’s most populous state. Mr Adityanath faced flak for changing the names of prominent Indian cities. The rationale was bizzare for some, while some seemed to nod in agreement. This led to a mini war-of-words across social platforms.


Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal)

Followers: 14.2 million
Following: 210

To help those affected by the Kerala floods that resulted in the death of over 483 people, Delhi chief minister, Arvind Kejriwal had said that he would donate a month’s salary, including that of his lawmakers to the relief fund for the victims. This comment went viral on Twitter and was his most retweeted tweet through the year.


Pawan Kalyan (@PawanKalyan)

Followers: 3.4 million
Following: 1

Potentially criticising for abuse and making business out of profanity, Pawan Kalyan, an Indian film actor tweeted to boycott certain news channels. The statement was his most retweeted tweet.


Shah Rukh Khan (@iamsrk)

Followers: 37 million
Following: 79

“Hug from the Thug....!! Beat that!”, said Bollywood’s popular actor Shah Rukh Khan in a tweet that shared a picture of the two B-town celebs ( Shah Rukh Khan and Aamir Khan) hugging. The tweet was his most retweeted tweet.


Vijay (@actorvijay)

Followers: 1.9 million
Following: 0

Tamil actor and playback singer, Vijay, got loads of attraction from Indian viewers towards the end of the year 2018 for his Tamil film ‘Sarkar’. The movie has been making massive gains worldwide, winning appreciation. The tweet sharing his movie’s ‘second look’ was the most retweeted so far.


Mahesh Babu (@urstrulyMahesh)

Followers: 7.22 million
Following: 21

Mahesh Babu is one of the biggest actors of the Telugu film industry. In 2018, he delivered his career-best performance in the Telugu blockbuster ‘Bharat Ane Nenu’. He was a rage on Twitter and #BharatAneNenu was one of the top hashtags of 2018.


Shivraj Singh Chouhan (@ChouhanShivraj)

Followers: 5 million
Following: 262

Talking of controversies, one cannot ignore the Vyapam Scam that has its roots in India’s central Madhya Pradesh, with its former chief minister, Shivraj Singh Chouhan at the epicentre of it. The Vyapam scam was an entrance examination, admission and recruitment scam that was unearthed in Madhya Pradesh in 2013. Recently, in an election shocker, Chouhan was upseated from the state in the assembly election results — after serving three consecutive terms. He was gracious in defeat and even joined his opponents onstage as they took the baton from him to serve Madhya Pradesh.