How the #StateElections unfolded on Twitter

Twitter is the best place to see what’s happening right now and to talk about it. With more than 6.4 million mentions on Twitter over the past 30 days (Feb 10 - Mar 12, 2017), the #StateElections showcased how Twitter provides a front row to political conversations in India from breaking news to behind the scenes action, political parties and candidates sparring over agendas, and people expressing their thoughts on hot election topics. Click on the interactive chart below to see the Twitter conversation and top Tweets about the #StateElections.

This year, Twitter introduced a custom emoji in conjunction with Counting Day, adding a fun way for people to express their opinions as the results were announced on March 11, 2017.

Even though the State Elections took place in five states, conversations on Twitter leading to the final results day on March 11th were vibrant all over the country and even worldwide. People all over the world are using Twitter to see what’s happening in India as the country continues to grow as a cultural, economic and political world power. Click the heatmap below to see the global conversation for the #StateElections on Twitter:

Throughout the State Elections campaign, politicians and parties took to Twitter to regularly communicate with people all over India. Prime Minister Narendra Modi (@NarendraModi) and Bharatiya Janata Party (@BJP4India) emerged as the most mentioned on Twitter since the start of the year.

Demonetisation was a huge discussion topic during the State Elections, generating over 300,000 mentions on Twitter in the past 30 days.

Beyond the #Demonetisation topic, Twitter users also participated in dynamic conversations using elections-related hashtags such as #UPElection2017, #Elections2017, #EXITPolls2017 and #PunjabElection2017.

Meanwhile, video and photo Tweets were popular choices in election programming as our Indian news partners continued to find innovative ways to use Twitter for civic engagement.

It’s clear from the #StateElections conversation that Twitter continues to be the best way to see all sides of the story when it comes to politics and elections in India.