Blogworks has released the 4th edition of its monthly India’s Most Mentioned Political Leaders index analysing the Top 20 Most Mentioned Political Leaders online for the month of July.

1. Duration: July 2013
most
mentioned
political leaders
july 2013
#indiasmostmentioned
As the countdown to the
general elections begins, social
media conversations around
possible candidates for the top
job and other political leaders
have gathered momentum .
Blogworks Most Mentioned
Political Leaders Index is a
monthly barometer of public
mood and conversations about
the top political leaders on
social media in India.
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2. Duration: July 2013
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3. Background
The 4th edition of ‘Blogworks India’s Most Mentioned Political Leaders’ analyses online mentions of
the top 20 political leaders being talked about, during July 2013 in comparison to June 2013. Out of
the top 20, we identified seven leaders basis their share of mentions in online conversations and
basis their names being compared for the top job amongst stakeholders online. We have
undertaken a further analysis on public sentiment and key conversation drivers.
We will be bringing to you monthly updates up to the elections.
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4. executive summary
• Since January 2013, mentions of Narendra Modi have seen the highest and most consistent increase; for all other politicians,
the shift in mentions has been fluctuating topically every month
• Amidst online voices, it appears to be advantage Modi as against his contender in the 2nd spot Rahul Gandhi. Where Narendra
Modi's mentions increased by the rate of 126% since January 2013, Rahul Gandhi's mentions decreased by the rate of 2% in the
same period.
• In the period June-July, Modi continues to be at the top of the most mentioned political leaders index with almost nine
times more buzz than Rahul Gandhi
• Digvijay Singh made an entry in the top most mentioned political leaders, he moved from 20th spot in June to 7th spot in July
2013. Criticizing his stand on Batla House encounter, BJP Spokesperson Meenakshi Lekhi said the whole country stands
together with Martyr MC Sharma. Her statement was widely shared by people.
• Digvijay Singh’s disparaging statement against his fellow party leader Meenakshi Natarajan got criticism by people and
media, thus taking him to the 7th spot.
• ‘Speculation around Telagana contributed to ‘highest mentions under Law, order & internal affairs’ for Sonia Gandhi
• Sushma Swaraj has consistently been in the top 20 since January 2013, however, in July she dropped out of top 20.
• July saw a surge in negative sentiment for Rahul Gandhi – increasing from 27% in June to 82% in July 2013.‘Corruption’ was the
most mentioned theme for Rahul Gandhi in July 2013 and 89% of these mentions under ‘Corruption’ were negative
• ‘Development and economy’ which was the plank on which Narendra Modi had entered conversations has dropped over a
period of time, while conversations under ‘Law, order & internal affairs’ have increased in July
• Arvind Kejriwal appears to be moving beyond ‘corruption’ as his key election pivot. His Azad Maidan rally in support of 14,000
homeless families and comments on the Batla encounter contributed to highest mentions under’ ‘Law, order & internal affairs
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Overall buzz

5. Themes & SENTIMENT
Narendra Modi: ‘Development and economy’ which was the plank on which Narendra Modi had entered
conversations has dropped over a period of time, while conversations on ‘Law, order & internal affairs’ have
increased, in July 2013, ‘Law, order & internal affairs’ was the most mentioned theme for Narendra Modi.
For Modi, the positive mentions under ‘Caste & religion’ have been increasing while negative mentions
have seen a decline, since January 2013. Since his speech at Vibrant Gujarat, people perceived him as a
leader, moving away from ‘Caste & religion’ based agendas in January. Narendra Modi’s name was cleared
by Special Investigation Team (SIT) from Gujarat riots which generated positive reactions. Further,
comments of online influencers like Suhel Seth, Anupam Kher, Harsha Bhogle and Chetan Bhagat
expressing disappointment over 65 MPs writing to US President Obama to maintain the current policy of
denying visa to Modi contributed to these positive reactions resulting in a monthly drop of 1% in negative
sentiment since January under ‘Caste and religion’.
The trend of increasing positive mentions and decreasing negative mentions have also been observed for
‘Development and economy’.
.
Rahul Gandhi: July saw a surge in negative sentiment for Gandhi – increasing from 27% in June to 82% in
July 2013.‘Corruption’ was the most mentioned theme for Rahul Gandhi in July 2013 and 89% of these
mentions under ‘Corruption’ were negative. He was termed as the ‘biggest beneficiary of corrupt dynastic
politics’ and he has also been mentioned for his alleged role in the Railgate scam.
The news of Youth Congress activists beating up AIYF activists including women drew negative mentions
for him.
Negative mentions under ‘Caste & religion’ increased by 158%. This surge in July under ‘Caste & religion’
from June could be attributed to the conversations where people termed Rahul Gandhi’s visit to a Dalit
home as ‘drama’, instead of visiting the homes of the victims of the mid-day meal tragedy.
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6. Themes & SENTIMENT
Sonia Gandhi: ‘Corruption’ related mentions continued to dominate conversations for Sonia
Gandhi. BJP spokesperson, Meenakshi Lekhi's statement mocking Sonia Gandhi and expressing
support for Batla House encounter martyr MC Sharma's family was widely shared by people online.
‘Law, order & internal affairs’ was the highest talked about theme for her in July 2013 followed by
‘Caste & religion’ and ‘Development & economy’.
People spoke negatively about Sonia Gandhi for not giving her go-ahead on the creation of
Telangana, comparing the situation to 2000, when 3 new states were created by the government
headed by Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
Manmohan Singh: ‘Development & economy’ was the most talked about theme for him in July 2013
His perceived lack of a stand on the Food Security Bill drew negative mentions under ‘Development
& economy’.
He also continued to draw flak online for his silence and inaction on important issues such as the
creation of Telangana and the blasts at Bodh Gaya.
.
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7. Themes & SENTIMENT
Arvind Kejriwal: ‘Law, order & internal affairs’ was the most talked about theme for Arvind Kejriwal in
July 2013. His rally at Azad Maidan in Mumbai on 11 July, 2013 seeking justice for 14,000 homeless
families drew positive mentions, and negative mentions arose due to his terming the Batla House
encounter fake.
Nitish Kumar: Mentions under ‘Law, order & internal affairs’ for Nitish Kumar increased in July 2013.
with people mentioning him negatively in conversations around the blasts at Bodh Gaya.
People spoke negatively about him given his undue focus on his image as a secular leader and
inability to focus on issues such as the Bodh Gaya blasts and the mid-day meal tragedy in Bihar.
Sushma Swaraj: Mentions for Sushma Swaraj decreased in the month of July, as compared to June
2013.
Her statement after the Bodh Gaya blasts about not allowing a Bamiyan demolition in India, drew
negative comments from people, who reacted, reminding her about the Babri Masjid demolition.
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8. Duration: July 2013
buzz and rank summary – JUNE 2013 vs. JULY 2013
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Narendra Modi
Rahul Gandhi
Sonia Gandhi
Manmohan Singh
Arvind Kejriwal
Nitish Kumar
Digvijay Singh
LK Advani
Rajnath Singh
Mayawati
Atal Bihari Vajpayee
Anna Hazare
Mamata Banerjee
Manish Tewari
Shakeel Ahmed
Omar Abdullah
Shashi Tharoor
Kapil Sibal
Ajay Maken
P chidambaram
Jun-13
Jul-13

9. Duration: July 2013
buzz and rank summary – JUNE 2013 vs. JULY 2013
Shakeel Ahmed’s remark linking the formation of the Indian Mujahideen with the 2002 Gujarat riots led to a significant number of
conversations around him, and he moved up into the top 20 in July 2013. He had no mentions in June.
Shashi Tharoor moved to the 17th position in July 2013, up from the 42nd position in June. Mentions around him were people’s
reactions to his statement saying Kashmiri pandits left Kashmir due to BJP policies, and comparison of his ‘cattle class’ statement
with Narendra Modi’s ‘puppies’ statement.
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Rank Buzz
June July Political Leader June July
1 1 Narendra Modi 974,978 902,021
3 2 Rahul Gandhi 105,991 93,134
5 3 Sonia Gandhi 64,205 60,009
6 4 Manmohan Singh 52,403 51,827
7 5 Arvind Kejriwal 27,209 30,764
4 6 Nitish Kumar 65,780 29,305
20 7 Digvijay Singh 5,782 25,724
2 8 LK Advani 206,142 24,782
8 9 Rajnath Singh 21,617 18,873
21 10 Mayawati 5,775 14,498
9 11 Atal Bihari Vajpayee 15,603 13,961
16 12 Anna Hazare 7,549 13,217
11 13 Mamata Banerjee 10,808 11,786
26 14 Manish Tewari 5,083 10,838
125 15 Shakeel Ahmed 0 10,014
18 16 Omar Abdullah 6,219 9,281
42 17 Shashi Tharoor 1,857 8,088
34 18 Kapil Sibal 3,441 7,620
31 19 Ajay Maken 3,924 7,277
44 20 P Chidambaram 1,734 6,729

10. Duration: July 2013
channels
10
Twitter continued to be the top
channel in July 2013.Narendra Modi
Rahul Gandhi
Sonia Gandhi
Manmohan Singh
Arvind Kejriwal
Nitish Kumar
Digvijay Singh
LK Advani
Rajnath Singh
Mayawati
Atal Bihari Vajpayee
Anna Hazare
Mamata Banerjee
Manish Tewari
Shakeel Ahmed
Omar Abdullah
Shashi Tharoor
Kapil Sibal
Ajay Maken
P Chidambaram
TWITTER
FACEBOOK
YOUTUBE
BLOGS
FORUMS
FLICKR
AGGREGATORS
MAINSTREAM MEDIA
TUMBLR
YAHOO

11. Duration: July 2013
depth of engagement
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Total mentions Total reach on Twitter Unique authors
Narendra Modi 902,021 174,191,754 215,618
Rahul Gandhi 93,134 27,116,762 22,808
Sonia Gandhi 60,009 18,970,957 14,721
Manmohan Singh 51,827 22,035,260 12,522
Arvind Kejriwal 30,764 9,911,617 6,728
Nitish Kumar 29,305 10,810,063 7,500
Digvijay Singh 25,724 8,827,908 9,685
LK Advani 24,782 20,729,267 8,108
Rajnath Singh 18,873 16,235,782 6,812
Mayawati 14,498 11,852,833 5,586
Atal Bihari Vajpayee 13,961 8,605,949 4,783
Anna Hazare 13,217 8,851,921 5,683
Mamata Banerjee 11,786 6,991,862 2,371
Manish Tewari 10,838 7,749,038 4,688
Shakeel Ahmed 10,014 7,758,510 3,937
Omar Abdullah 9,281 4,876,188 2,307
Shashi Tharoor 8,088 11,175,169 3,969
Kapil Sibal 7,620 5,937,670 3,205
Ajay Maken 7,277 8,333,360 3,491
P Chidambaram 6,729 3,710,297 809
While the overall mentions
of Narendra Modi declined
in July, his total reach and
the total number of unique
authors talking about him
increased.
Mentions of Ajay Maken
increased by 85% in July.
2013. His statement asking
about Gujarat’s
contribution in the field of
sports drew reactions from
people which contributed
to his mentions.

12. Duration: July 2013
themes
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13. Duration: July 2013
themes by sentiment
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14. Duration: July 2013
buzz
Buzz for Narendra Modi decreased
by 7% in July 2013.
Several people on social media
highlighted and appreciated
Narendra Modi for being honest
and being secular, many expressed
disappointment over 65 MPs writing
to US President Barack Obama to
maintain the current policy of
denying visa to Modi, and these
drove conversations for him.
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14
92,073
1,36,060
1,39,525
5,07,163
4,21,321
9,74,978
9,02,021
January
February
March
April
May
June
July
NARENDRA MODI

15. Duration: July 2013
buzz
In the current debate on possible
prime ministerial candidates,
historian Ramchandra Guha's
statement about Rahul Gandhi as a
likeable but confused and mediocre
politician was the key conversation
driver this month.
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15
RAHUL GANDHI
1,05,342
43,478
52,545
1,18,325
58,642
1,05,991
93,134
January
February
March
April
May
June
July

16. Duration: July 2013
buzz
BJP spokesperson, Meenakshi
Lekhi's statement mocking Sonia
Gandhi and expressing support for
Batla House encounter martyr MC
Sharma's family was widely shared
by people online.
16
16
SONIA GANDHI
41,095
28,706
25,730
45,920
70,881
64,205
60,009
January
February
March
April
May
June
July

17. Duration: July 2013
buzz
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh
continued to draw flak online for his
silence and inaction on important
issues such as the creation of
Telangana, the debate on the Food
Security Bill and the blasts at Bodh
Gaya.
17
17
MANMOHAN SINGH
42630
30931
24967
58442
1,00,341
52,403
51,827
January
February
March
April
May
June
July

18. Duration: July 2013
buzz
Arvind Kejriwal's statement about
the Batla House encounter being a
fake encounter and his being
spoken of as among the first to
expose the Maharashtra Irrigation
Scam were the two key
conversation drivers for the month.
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18
ARVIND KEJRIWAL
14446
22238
14680
35800
19,694
27,209
30,764
January
February
March
April
May
June
July

19. Duration: July 2013
buzz
People’s negative reactions about
the blasts at Bodh Gaya and the
mid-day meal tragedy in Chhapra
drove conversations for Nitish
Kumar in the month of July.
His overall mentions came down by
55% this month.
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19
NITISH KUMAR
4,606
4,736
4,336
31,446
5,947
65,780
29,305
January
February
March
April
May
June
July

20. Duration: July 2013
buzz
Mentions for Sushma Swaraj almost
halved in July and she moved out of
top 20 most mentions political
leaders.
People’s opinion that she could be
the prime ministerial candidate for
BJP if Narendra Modi is not
nominated drove conversations for
her.
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20
SUSHMA SWARAJ
8988
3644
4492
11410
10,125
10,696
5,981
January
February
March
April
May
June
July

21. Duration: July 2013
THEMES BY SENTIMENT
21
Caste & religion
• Since May 2013, negative
mentions for Narendra Modi
around ‘Caste & religion’ have
been coming down.
• Positive: People have
supported the comments and
views of online influencers
like Suhel Seth, Anupam Kher,
Harsha Bhogle and Chetan
Bhagat who expressed their
disappointment over 65 MPs
writing to US President
Obama to maintain the
current policy of denying visa
to Modi.
• Negative: Aamir Raza
Hussain’s statement holding
Narendra Modi responsible
for the Gujarat riots was
shared by people.
NARENDRA MODI

22. Duration: July 2013
THEMES BY SENTIMENT
22
Law, order & internal affairs
• Positive mentions increased
and negative mentions
decreased under ‘Law, order
& internal affairs’ in July as
compared to June.
• Positive: Narendra Modi’s
opinion on Telangana and his
statement that “India needs
modernisation and not
westernisation” was widely
shared by people.
• Negative: His association
with the Gujarat riots
contributed to his negative
mentions.
NARENDRA MODI

23. Duration: July 2013
23
2133 shares2375 shares

24. Duration: July 2013
THEMES BY SENTIMENT
24
Caste & religion
• Negative mentions for Rahul
Gandhi under ‘Caste &
religion’ increased from 3% in
June to 59% in July.
• Positive: Rahul Gandhi’s
statement “The Indian flag is
my religion” in response to a
question about his religious
beliefs drove positive
mentions for him.
• Negative: People terming
Rahul Gandhi’s visit to a Dalit
home in Jhanshi in 2011 as
‘drama’, instead of visiting
the homes of the victims of
the mid-day meal tragedy
drove negative mentions.
RAHUL GANDHI

25. Duration: July 2013
THEMES BY SENTIMENT
25
Corruption
• Positive mentions for Rahul
Gandhi under ‘Corruption’
have been declining since
May 2013. Negative mentions
have also increased from 65%
in May to 89% in July.
• Negative: Rahul Gandhi’s
alleged role in the Railgate
Scam and the perception of
being the biggest beneficiary
of corrupt dynastic politics
drove negative mentions.
RAHUL GANDHI

26. Duration: July 2013
THEMES BY SENTIMENT
26
Law, order & internal affairs
• Under ‘Law, order & internal
affairs’ his negative mentions
increased from 33% in May to
77% in July.
• Positive: People positively
mentioned him for speaking
with humility and empathy
while talking about the Sikh
riots.
• Negative: He was mentioned
negatively after a girl was
raped by a Youth Congress
leader, and also when an
NSUI member made a
statement about the Sikh
riots being necessary.
RAHUL GANDHI

27. Duration: July 2013
27
2078 shares 691 shares

28. Duration: July 2013
THEMES BY SENTIMENT
28
Caste & religion
• Negative mentions under ‘Caste
& religion’ increased from 20%
in June to 87% in July.
• Negative: She was negatively
mentioned in conversations
about the alleged role of
Congress leaders in the Gujarat
riots, and for misusing the word
secularism.
Corruption
• Positive: Some people believe
that she was wrongly dragged
by the BJP into the Bofors case
due to her Italian origin.
• Negative: Like Rahul Gandhi,
Sonia Gandhi’s alleged role in
the Railgate Scam and people’s
perception of her being a
practitioner of corrupt dynastic
politics drove negative
mentions for her.
SONIA GANDHI

29. Duration: July 2013
THEMES BY SENTIMENT
29
Law, order & internal affairs
• Negative: People spoke
negatively about Sonia
Gandhi for not giving her go-
ahead on the creation of
Telangana, comparing the
situation to 2000, when 3
new states were created by
the government headed by
Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
Development & economy
• Sonia Gandhi has been
consistently under criticism
on the subject of
‘Development & economy’.
• Negative: People criticized
her for pushing the Food
Security Bill and termed it
‘mindless welfarism’.
SONIA GANDHI

30. Duration: July 2013
30
1744 shares 504 shares

31. Duration: July 2013
THEMES BY SENTIMENT
31
Defence & foreign policy
• Positive: He was praised by
people after the Cabinet
Committee on Security
chaired by him, gave the nod
for mountain strike corps
along the China border.
• Negative: He was criticized
for not paying tribute to the
soldiers who sacrificed their
life in Kargil.
Development & economy
• Positive: People spoke about
him as being the only person
who can take brave steps
towards liberalisation to take
the country forward.
• Negative: He was criticized
for not taking a stand on the
Food Security Bill.
Manmohan Singh

32. Duration: July 2013
THEMES BY SENTIMENT
32
Caste & religion
• Positive: Manmohan Singh's
apology statement for 1984
Sikh riots, in comparison with
Narendra Modi's 'puppy'
comment.
• Negative: He was negatively
mentioned for misusing the
word secularism, along with
Sonia Gandhi and Rahul
Gandhi.
Manmohan Singh

33. Duration: July 2013
33
325 shares675 shares

34. Duration: July 2013
THEMES BY SENTIMENT
34
Corruption
• His continuous efforts against
corruption led to an increase in
positive mentions since January.
Whether it was his stand on Lokpal
bill, alleging Union minister Kapil
Sibal for his involvement in
Vodafone tax case, making
statements against Delhi Chief
minister Sheila Dixit for increased
water and electricity bill in Delhi or
exposing Maharashtra irrigation
scam, all contributed to his positive
mentions for him under corruption.
• Positive: People perceived that
Arvind Kejriwal was the first to
expose the Maharashtra Irrigation
Scam.
• Negative: People commented that
his wife who is an administrator has
not been transferred for the last 20
years, which goes against Arvind
Kejriwal’s promise of a corruption-
free government.
ARVIND KEJRIWAL

35. Duration: July 2013
THEMES BY SENTIMENT
35
Law, order & internal affairs
• Negative mentions for him
under ‘Law, order & internal
affairs’ increased from 1% in
June to 37% in July 2013. This
was because of people
criticizing his statement that
the Batla house encounter
was fake.
• Positive: Arvind Kejriwal’s rally
in Azad Maidan on 11 July,
2013 seeking justice for
14,000 homeless families
drew positive mentions.
• Negative: Negative mentions
came from people who were
unhappy about his terming
the Batla House encounter
fake.
ARVIND KEJRIWAL

36. Duration: July 2013
36
299 shares 207 shares

37. Duration: July 2013
THEMES BY SENTIMENT
37
Caste & religion
• Negative: People spoke
negatively about him given his
undue focus on his image as a
secular leader and inability to
focus on issues such as the
Bodh Gaya blasts and the
mid-day meal tragedy in
Bihar.
Development & economy
• Since May 2013, positive
mentions for Nitish Kumar
under ‘Development &
economy’ have been coming
down.
• Negative: The mid-day meal
tragedy in the Chhapra district
in Bihar, and the terrible
condition of roads in Patna
drove negative mentions for
him.
NITISH KUMAR

38. Duration: July 2013
38
155 shares 102 shares

39. Duration: July 2013
THEMES BY SENTIMENT
39
Caste & religion
• Negative mentions for
Sushma Swaraj under ‘Caste &
religion’ have increased from
55% in May to 91% in July.
• Negative: Her statement after
the Bodh Gaya blasts about
not allowing a Bamiyan
demolition in India, drew
negative comments from
people who reacted,
reminding her about the Babri
Masjid demolition
Corruption
• Negative mentions for
Sushma Swaraj under
‘Corruption’ have also been
witnessing a rise since May
2013.
• Negative: A remark by Digvijay
Singh that illegal mining
flourished under Sushma
Swaraj, drew negative
mentions for her.
SUSHMA SWARAJ

40. Duration: July 2013
40
168 shares 58 shares

41. METHODOLOGY
§ A list of 187 Indian political leaders were considered for this report.
§ These leaders are Cabinet Ministers, Ministers of states, Chief Ministers of states, important
leaders from all political parties, and independent political leaders.
§ In total 1,479,605 mentions of various combinations of these keywords were found between 1
July to 31 July 2013.
§ The top 20 political leaders were identified basis their share of mentions in online
conversations.
§ Out of the top 20 political leaders, seven leaders were identified basis their share of mentions in
online conversations and basis their names being compared for the top job amongst
stakeholders online. These include -
§ Narendra Modi, Rahul Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi, Manmohan Singh, Arvind Kejriwal, Nitish
Kumar and Sushma Swaraj
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42. METHODOLOGY
§ Thematic analysis was done for the following themes identified through key government
ministries but which were sometimes clubbed based on synergies of the themes:
§ Corruption; Development & economy; Caste & religion; Women safety & security; Youth &
employment; Defense & foreign policy; Law, order & internal affairs; Science & technology;
Education & healthcare.
§ For each political leader, the top 100 most discussed and shared conversation threads were
analysed. A sentiment was assigned to each conversation, and total sentiment was calculated
by multiplying the number of times each of those conversations were reshared.
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43. Duration: July 2013
disclaimer
We have made all efforts to keep the report error free. Please do point out any errors that you may
notice and we will incorporate your insights in future editions. Please write to us at
reports@blogworks.in with the subject line ‘corrections’.
About Blogworks
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