Modi pips Big B to be most followed Indian on Twitter

Prime minister Narendra Modi has pipped Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan to become the most followed Indian on social media site Twitter.

As on Thursday, Modi had over 22.1 million followers on the social networking platform, while Bachchan marginally trailed with 22 million at the last count.

In January, Modi's Twitter followers surpassed those of Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan. Modi, then, became the second-most followed Indian on Twitter, with over 17,371,600 followers, compared to Khan's 17,351,100.

Now, Khan is the third-most followed Indian on Twitter, with 20.9 million users of the social media site following him.

The number of followers of Modi's account (@narendramodi) consistently increased by about a million every two months in 2015. The figure crossed the 15-million mark on September 22 last year, and touched 16 million on November 20. In 2016, the growth rate of Modi's Twitter followers slowed down, with about five million users being added in around eight months.

Active on Twitter since 2009, Modi is also the second-most followed politician in the world, right after US President Barack Obama (@barackobama), according to Twitter. Modi has used Twitter for campaigns like #MakeInIndia, #SwachhBharat, #MannKiBaat, and #SelfieWithDaughter, to reach and connect with citizens. The government is encouraging people and officials to use Twitter to communicate with each other.