An analysis of 131 BJP MPs’ tweets in February last year shows an increase in likelihood of them getting a ticket to contest Lok Sabha elections.
Loyalty matters most for BJP Members of Parliament in getting renominated by the party to contest the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. An analysis of tweets from 131 current BJP MPs, collected in February 2018, shows a correlation between loyalty to the party’s leadership on Twitter and whether or not a sitting MP was renominated for this year’s elections.
I analyse the rate at which a BJP MP retweeted the leadership in February 2018. The retweet rates of February 2018 are a good benchmark for two reasons. First, it is more than a year before the general elections. We are, therefore, not observing retweets being conveniently used to make a good impression right before the elections. Second, it was just before March 2018, when the BJP urged its members to increase their online presence and grow their number of followers. I find that loyalty to the party and its leaders, not popularity on social media, is rewarded by party leadership with renomination.
Please click here to read more.