​ Divine domination: Ayodhya Ram Mandir handle reigns with 602.3K followers

As the nation eagerly waits for the Pran Pratisthan of Ram Lalla at the upcoming Ram temple in Ayodhya on January 22, the social media handle of the temple in X has surpassed the number of followers of any other Hindu temple in India or elsewhere.

The official account of Shri Ram Janmbhoomi Teerth Kshetra (@ShriRamTeerth), the trust responsible for the construction and management of Shri Ram Janmbhoomi Mandir in Ayodhya, is the most followed handle among all other temple social media accounts in the country, with 602.3K followers. The account was created in February 2020, a few months after the Supreme Court of India, on November 9, 2019, ordered the disputed land (2.77 acres) to be handed over to a trust to build the Ram Janmabhoomi temple, revered as the birthplace of Lord Ram.

The account is followed by Home Minister Amit Shah, Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, UP Vidhan Sabha Speaker Satish Mahana, Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Mauraya, Champat Rai (International Vice President of Vishwa Hindu Parishad and General Secretary of Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra), and thousands of other individuals. It does not follow any handles of individuals or organizations.

The Ram temple handle is the most active and sought after. It regularly posts all important developments related to the temple, as well as photos and videos of the upcoming temple, and features of the temple as it awaits inauguration.

Next on the list, the second most followed temple on social media is Shri Siddhivinayak Temple (@SVTMumbai), Mumbai. It joined social media in August 2020 and has 220.6K followers.

Even the combined social media handles of Jagannatha Temple in Puri (Odisha) fall way behind Ayodhya’s Ram temple in total followers. Jagannatha Temple has two handles on X: Shree Jagannatha Temple Office, Puri (@SJTA_Puri SJTA), a statutory body that makes arrangements for pilgrims and has 220.3K followers. Another handle of Shree Jagannatha Temple, Puri (@JagannathaDhaam), joined in October 2014 and has 193.2K followers.

The official X handle of the first Jyotirlinga Somnath Temple (@Somnath_Temple) has 205.8K followers. It joined in November 2012.

Kashi Vishwanath Temple (@ShriVishwanath) in Varanasi, one of the 12 jyotirlingas, has 129.2K followers. The account was created in May 2018. Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the first phase of Kashi Vishwanath Corridor on December 13, 2021.

The official handle of Shri Gorakhnath Mandir (@GorakhnathMndr) was created in January 2019 and has 141.3K followers. It follows only two accounts and belongs to Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, who is the mahant of the temple.

Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (@TTDevasthanams), the official X account of Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams, has 112.7K followers. Saibaba Sansthan Trust Shirdi (@SSSTShirdi), the official Twitter account of Shri Saibaba Sansthan Trust, Shirdi, has 100K followers.

ISKCON (@iskcon), the official page of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), popularly known as the Hare Krishna Movement, has 71.1K followers. The Golden Temple in Amritsar, run by Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (@SGPCAmritsar), has a handle with 31.7K followers.