Rahul Gandhi finally joins Twitter

New Delhi: After a long lull that left him with a lot of catching up to do, Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi joined Twitter on Wednesday. Gandhi’s Twitter handle, “Office of RG,” had no biography and he had not sent a single tweet by 8:30 pm.

The account, which has a profile photo of the 44-year-old Gandhi, had more than 1,800 followers as of 8:30 pm, including the official Twitter account of the National Students Union of India (NSUI), the student wing of the Congress party.

A senior party leader, who was aware of the developments, said the report was authentic and came from Gandhi’s office. “It is yet to be verified as it was released only today, but it is his report,” the party leader said.

In the absence of an official statement from the site, Mint could not independently verify the authenticity of the Twitter account.

The Gandhi scion went on a nearly two-month vacation during the first half of the Budget session of Parliament, but returned to engage more vigorously with the public on several issues. These include the Real Estate Act and the controversial Land Acquisition Amendment Bill. Since his return, he has also intervened in the Lok Sabha on farm scarcity and net neutrality.

Political experts believe that an active social media campaign was a key factor in Prime Minister Narendra Modi being elected to office last year, especially as it helped him connect with the youth and urban dwellers.

According to Twiplomacy 2015, a study of world leaders on Twitter Inc. conducted by global public relations and communications firm Burson-Marsteller, Modi’s account has 12.1 million followers, making him the third most followed leader in the world.