The ongoing panchayat elections in Rajasthan have thrown up sharp contrasts between online and offline numbers. In an earlier phase of the polls, whose last round is scheduled this Saturday, Om Prakash Bishnoi, who boasts of more than 10 lakh Instagram followers, managed to get only 33 votes when he stood for the sarpanch’s post in a village outside Jodhpur. In Bhilwara district, Komal Sahu, whose husband Pawan’s fitness videos have garnered more than 2.5 crore subscribers on YouTube, came a distant third. This raises the old question of fake followers—variously estimated at half to two-thirds for some top politicians. The other point is that only a fraction of anyone’s following might be in the immediate neighbourhood. Is it because familiarity breeds contempt?