Rishi Sunak trends on social media, Google search after becoming PM

Rishi Sunak's ascension to the premiership of the UK has set off a veritable storm of social media action on Twitter, WhatsApp as well as search engines such as Google with messages and memes querying everything - from how authentic a "Hindu" he is to his dietary preferences.

On Monday, more than 100,000 searches on Google were registered about Akshata Murty, Sunak's wife and the daughter of Infosys co-founder NR Narayana Murthy.

On October 24, soon after it was announced that Sunak would be the new Conservative Party leader and the next UK PM, the search interest in Sunak piqued more than 100, which is the maximum on Google.


The index hits 100 every time a major world event occurs.

In the UK, where more than two million queries related to Sunak were posted on Google, several were centred on his religion, age, and what Diwali meant. While, in India, nationalistic fervour was at an all-time high, as users linked the rise of a British Asian to the top post in the island nation to India's British-ruled colonial past.

"Indian communities generally do well (overseas). Earlier the focus was education and academics. In the next wave we saw Indian CEOs or CEOs of Indian origin and now we're seeing Indians break through the third glass ceiling in a sense, which is in the political arena," said Soumitra Pathare, the director of Pune-based Centre for Mental Health Law & Policy.

On Twitter, the feed was dominated by users sharing pictures, memes, and jokes, most related to his Hindu ancestry and his connections with India. Since October 24, more than 680,000 tweets have been shared by users which contained the new PM.