December 21, 2013
Didi`s online popularity soars, her Facebook page crosses 5 lakh likes
Trinamool Chairperson Ms. Mamata Banerjee entered the social media arena on June 15, 2012 with her official Facebook page. Barely 18 months later, the love for Didi from the people of Bengal, and perhaps the nation as well, has taken the total number of likes on her page to 5, 01, 830 (as we are writing this article). This figure is a testimony to the fact that the popularity of the Chief Minister of West Bengal is on the rise online.
The national media never tried to publicize the extensive development programme happening in Bengal over the past two and half years. The common people with common sense did not let Didi down. The number of likes on Didi`s Facebook page is a clear indication how happy people are with the progress of the state.
Didi has been a different leader altogether, a phenomenon Indian politics has rarely witnessed. “The lady`s not for turning,“ Margaret Thatcher famously said, and so could Didi. She wears the same plain saris, lives in the same house in the same narrow lane; she loves Rabindrasangeet, invokes Ma, Mati, Manush, exuberates an aura of a leader through her actions, more than her words. Just like a true leader of the common people.
It is not without reason that she made it to the coveted list of `The World`s 100 Most Influential People: 2012` published by Time Magazine. Didi`s name also figured in the list of 50 most influential people in the world of finance as rated by Bloomberg Markets magazine. Her name featured in the policy-makers section of the list where she shared space with U S Federal Reserve chairman Ben S Bernanke, European Central Bank`s president Mario Draghi and Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
Didi has used the medium effectively to reach out to people. Be it sharing her point of view on critical issues like the Land Demarcation Bill or the demand for Justice Ganguly`s resignation, or for that matter asking for people's views on the Oil Minister`s suggestion of Bus Day, the Chief Minister has established a great contact with the masses. She also uses Facebook to share pictures whenever she goes on district tours or attends government functions.
