Inside: The Aaditya Thackeray Social Media Strategy

With the youth leader creating waves in Maharashtra politics, Social Samosa dives into the Aaditya Thackeray Social Media Strategy.

Recently, Aaditya Thackeray created waves by standing as a candidate from Worli constituency in the upcoming Maharashtra Assembly Elections. Known for his love for football, this youth leader has been trying to create an image for himself that is palatable to young persons while staying in sync with the identity and legacy that backs him. We take a look at the way the Aaditya Thackeray Social Media Strategy and unravel how it seems to have changed over time.

Social Media Footprint

Facebook: 173K followers

Twitter: 1.9M followers

Instagram: 154K followers

The young Thackeray has been furiously protesting against the felling of trees at the Aarey Colony. This is something he received flak for as his party, Shiv Sena, holds significant power in the state. Much of this happened on social media, especially Twitter.

Another prominent event in his social media life has been about supporting the presence of government organs like BMC, BEST, and TMC on the micro-blogging website. He often retweets them as well as shows gratitude for the work done by government officials. During monsoon this year, he actively disseminated information, amplifying the work of the municipality.

Candid to candidacy

As someone who comes from a prominent political family, Aaditya's communication has never been bereft of public appearances that are political in nature. However, ever since he announced candidacy, his social media presence has started mirroring profiles of politicians at large.

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So, while before he could be seen sharing candid shots and comparatively casual pictures at sporting events, now his profiles are full to the brim with rally images against saffron backdrops. He is almost always wearing white, playing the part of someone looking to lead the state government is whatever capacity people allow him.

Legacy and social media

It is interesting how Thackeray is using his social media profiles to disseminate specific communication. On Twitter, he shares updates and opinions. His Facebook page is a documentation of the public meetings he is addressing as a part of his campaign. On Instagram, he posts only highlights and thus the frequency of posting is much less.

Much of the communication put forth by Aaditya revolves around Mumbai and Maharashtra. He is participative in relevant conversations and often amplifies the opinions of people that are in sync with his narrative. Mostly, he communicates in English and his target audience seems to be of made up of young persons. It would be interesting to see how he communicates after the results of the elections are out.