I was trolled by AAP for standing up for Modi

I was #trending on Twitter!

That's my reward for criticising Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal.

I also realised how the Delhi chief minister feels, when he criticises Prime Minister Narendra Modi every morning on Twitter. If an ordinary journalist like me can figure on Twitter's India trends for few hours, imagine the influence the Delhi CM wields in the virtual world.

The big difference in the way the Delhi CM and I use Twitter is the time of the day we choose to tweet. I prefer to indulge on the micro-blogging website post morning, preferably at night, because, for me, there are other important chores of real world that need priority.

For the Delhi CM, perhaps, his virtual world is equally, if not more important than the real world. So one can see how he begins his day with a tirade against the PM, not to forget it has to be in context of the latest issues. Twitter is all about fresh updates (read hashtags) after all.

On Sunday, when I retweeted a post of the channel I work for, I experienced the impact of Arvind Kejriwal's phenomenal presence, and its ability to inspire trolls.

My retweet was about Arvind Kejriwal running away in Rome, to evade any questions on the histrionics of AAP's tainted MLA Sandeep Kumar.

The Delhi CM prefers only a one-way communication over Twitter or a video message, and even at a rare press conference, no cross-questions are welcome. So it was no surprise that he chose not to respond to our journalist when asked about the now infamous "sex tapes" of his MLA.

It seemed interesting that the Delhi CM was avoiding a journalist in person, while he continues to challenge the our country's PM everyday on social media.

My one retweet taught me that when a leader runs away, it's up to paid trolls and so-called fans to defend him in the virtual cosmos.

You should be prepared for the choicest abuse and their retweets.

I was luckier because joining the troll brigade was Delhi health minister Dr Satendra Jain, and Arvind Kejriwal himself. In true form, they made clear their discomfort at having their authority questioned by the odd journalist.

In their attempt to trample opposition, they ended up making me popular on Twitter. As I read it, it was a miscalculated and politically immature step by the leader and his loyal followers, as more people are now reading, retweeting and liking my tweets.

Such immaturity will make no difference to my life, but can prove an expensive misjudgement against a seasoned politician/leader.

Twitter accounts for 13.7 per cent of users on social media - that is more than 22.2 million accounts. This number is smaller than the population of Punjab, which is of great interest to the Delhi CM.

What leaders of the current crop misunderstand is the difference between the real and the virtual world. The dynamics of the virtual universe ensure one is in the news for what dominates the hashtags, whilst they get away from issues of the real world, and remain leaders only in a world ruled by trends.