Archive · 27 Aug 2026
Instagram Engagement Surges as Indian Politics Targets Gen Z
A research company studied how much attention Indian political accounts received on Instagram.
It compared activity before and after July 20.
Narendra Modi’s posts received much more engagement after that date.
Rahul Gandhi’s posts also received more attention, but his increase was smaller.
The accounts of the two major political parties grew less than the leaders’ accounts.
This suggests that people may respond more strongly to individual politicians than to party pages.
Modi used short videos, including Reels, while Gandhi used question-and-answer sessions and student interactions.
The change came after a protest about exam paper leaks, when politicians began focusing more on young people’s social-media habits.
Narendra Modi’s average Instagram engagement rose from 1.19 million to 4.63 million per post after July 20.
Rahul Gandhi’s average engagement increased from 152,000 to 426,000 per post, a 180.7% rise.
The reported figures indicate that Modi’s engagement grew 289.9%, nearly four times its earlier level.
The Indian National Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party accounts recorded more modest follower growth of 43.4% and 37.1%, respectively.
The shift followed a July 20 protest over exam paper leaks and involved Reels, Stories, AMAs and student interactions.
- Who
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Rahul Gandhi, the Bharatiya Janata Party, the Indian National Congress and Data Beings.
- What
- Instagram engagement rose sharply for Modi and Gandhi, while the two party accounts recorded more modest growth.
- When
- The figures compare periods before and after July 20; Data Beings published the findings on August 26, 2026.
- Where
- The activity was measured on Instagram in the context of Indian politics.
- Why
- The shift followed a July 20 protest over national exam paper leaks and reflected efforts to reach young people through short, visual and interactive content.
- Data source
- Data Beings, a social-listening and analytics firm
- Modi engagement
- Rose from 1.19 million to 4.63 million per post
- Modi increase
- 289.9%, or nearly 3.9 times the pre-July 20 level
- Gandhi engagement
- Rose from 152,000 to 426,000 per post
- Gandhi increase
- 180.7%, or about 2.8 times the earlier level
- Indian National Congress followers
- Increased from 50,000 to 72,000, or 43.4%
- Bharatiya Janata Party followers
- Increased from 25,000 to 34,000, or 37.1%