Those who think a bureaucrat can never match the popularity of political bigwigs, that too of a Chief Minister (CM) of that state, need to rethink, as Maharashtra IAS officer Tukaram Mundhe (IAS:2005:MH) beats both CM Devendra Fadnavis and Deputy CM Eknath Shinde in Instagram followers and engagement metrics.
Currently posted as Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner, Tukaram Mundhe’s Instagram engagement is pegged at 20.35%, far ahead of the engagement rates of Devendra Fadnavis with 0.50% and Eknath Shinde at a meagre 0.24%.
Data released in August 2026 shows Mundhe’s soaring social media growth, fueled by his uncompromising style of functioning as Maharashtra’s FDA Commissioner.
The comparison tells the story with Mundhe having 34.15 Lakh (3.415 Million) Instagram followers, while Devendra Fadnavis has 29.02 Lakh (2.902 Million) followers, followed by Eknath Shinde with 13.01 Lakh (1.301 Million).
Interestingly, this is despite Mundhe sharing relatively few posts, only 13 posts over a 60-day period.
Besides, as per reports by media channels like Pune Mirror and Times Now, Mundhe also leads digital popularity metrics among prominent senior law enforcement officers like Sameer Wankhede and Vishwas Nangare Patil.
Mundhe’s reach is said to have been driven by viral videos, reels, and user-generated posts supporting his hard-line governance and strict food-safety enforcement drives.
It is not surprising because Mundhe has earned a reputation of being a fearless, uncompromising, and highly disciplined bureaucrat across India. His massive public following stems from his strict “by-the-book” administrative style as the Maharashtra FDA Commissioner, who has led an aggressive enforcement drive against food adulteration and poor kitchen hygiene.
Mundhe’s team has so far conducted over 3,000 raids, leading to the temporary closure or license suspensions of major global and domestic fast-food outlets.
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