Explained: Why Mayawati has finally joined Twitter

The BSP chief is famously reclusive, and her party spokespersons, too, are generally extremely guarded with their public statements. Mayawati’s appearance on a permanent public platform is, therefore, significant. By afternoon, the account had garnered nearly 26K followers.

While Mayawati has been widely welcomed on Twitter, she is also probably rather late in taking the plunge. Among political parties, the pioneers in social media interaction were the BJP and AAP, and there is virtually no party and very few politicians today who shun these platforms.

That Mayawati has taken the plunge is an indication also of the BSP’s recognition that the nature and profile of its base has changed. Vast numbers of India’s Dalits are now tech-savvy, and have taken the assertion of their identity to social media platforms.

Multiple Dalit and Bahujan handles, almost all of whom are supportive of the BSP, have been around for several years now, posting with attitude, wit, and aggression. It is likely that Mayawati would have recognised that she runs the risk of ceding the BSP’s space on social media entirely to these handles.