MEERUT: A day after BJP's national president Amit Shah reportedly told UP assembly hopefuls that their social media presence will determine their suitability for the 2017 polls and encouraged those vying for tickets to have 25,000 followers or likes each, the state BJP members with limited or nil presence on Facebook and Twitter are left in a quandary.Party's state president Laxmikant Bajpai has just 10,000 followers on Twitter while Muzaffarnagar riots accused Shamli MLA Suresh Rana has 12,856 followers on Facebook. BJP MP from Meerut Rajendra Agarwal, too, has 13,957 likes, while Kunwar Bhartendra Singh, party's Bijnor MP, does not have a fan page on his Facebook account and has just 2,986 friends. He is not active on Twitter.A few of them expressed doubt if this was the real measure of a leader's strength. "The real parameter of a leader's popularity is gauged by the work he does in his area and not how many followers he has on social media. Besides, a leader serves all sections of society, and not all of them are on social media platforms," a member said.Party's outgoing state president Laxmikant Bajpai, however, seemed confident of achieving the "target in just three months".Shamli MLA Suresh Rana said, "I think the statement should not be taken as a burden. Instead, social media is the best way to connect with the youth and it also serves as a barometer of your work. A few days ago, I got a suggestion on FB itself when someone asked me to put up a question in Vidhan Sabha on the way Western UP's increasingly contaminated groundwater is giving rise to diseases like cancer. I do not have a fan page. The day I have that page, I will also have a minimum of 1 lakh likes."When TOI contacted Bijnor MP Kunwar Bharatendra, he admitted he was not so active on social media, but added Shah's suggestion has been misunderstood. "Shah's statement was more on a suggestive note because 25,000 followers are minimal to run an election campaign. The message was intended to encourage party workers to strive harder towards increasing public contact " he said.