Most-Followed Instagram Accounts in India (2026)
Virat Kohli is the most-followed Instagram account in India, with 273.5 million followers as of May 23, 2026, more than double any other Indian account. Among the 60 Indian accounts Clarvio tracks dai...
Virat Kohli is the most-followed Instagram account in India, with 273.5 million followers as of May 23, 2026, more than double any other Indian account. Among the 60 Indian accounts Clarvio tracks daily, Prime Minister Narendra Modi (101.6 million) and actor Deepika Padukone (78.8 million) come next. Cricket and Bollywood dominate the list.
So the most-followed Instagram account in India has one clear leader and a field split between sport and film. This ranking counts accounts of Indian people and figures, not the global stars like Cristiano Ronaldo who simply have large Indian audiences. The figures come from Clarvio's top Instagram accounts tracking, read on a single dated snapshot rather than copied from an older list.
Who is the most-followed Indian on Instagram?
Virat Kohli holds the top spot by a wide margin. His 273.5 million followers place him among the most-followed people in the world, not just India, and his lead over the next Indian account is more than 170 million.
Behind him the ranking is a mix of a political figure, Bollywood actors and fellow cricketers. The counts below are measured as of May 23, 2026, so they reflect totals after the May 2026 bot purge rather than inflated pre-purge figures.
Measured top Indian accounts, as of May 23, 2026
| Rank | Account | Field | Followers (measured) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Virat Kohli | Cricket | 273,533,013 |
| 2 | Narendra Modi | Public figure | 101,638,795 |
| 3 | Deepika Padukone | Actor | 78,765,996 |
| 4 | Anushka Sharma | Actor | 67,506,291 |
| 5 | Rohit Sharma | Cricket | 46,511,295 |
| 6 | Anushka Sen | Actor | 38,088,836 |
| 7 | Amitabh Bachchan | Actor | 36,689,053 |
| 8 | Mouni Roy | Actor | 33,300,325 |
| 9 | Avneet Kaur | Actor | 30,769,469 |
| 10 | Nidhhi Agerwal | Actor | 30,668,427 |
Some major Indian names, such as Priyanka Chopra, Alia Bhatt, Akshay Kumar and Katrina Kaif, sit outside Clarvio's tracked sample, so they are not in this measured table; the ranking reflects the Indian accounts currently tracked.
Cricket and Bollywood rule the list
The shape of the ranking mirrors India's two great cultural engines. The top is anchored by cricket and film, the country's most-watched arenas.
What drives the ranking
- Cricket sits at the very top through Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, reflecting the sport's unmatched following across India.
- Bollywood fills most of the top 10, from veterans like Amitabh Bachchan to leading actors like Deepika Padukone and Anushka Sharma.
- A political figure, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, ranks second, a placement few countries see for an elected leader.
Reading these on a single date matters because positions shift week to week. Signal-based analysis can pull every account's count for the same snapshot, with no Instagram password and no login, so the ranking stays consistent rather than mixing dates.
Why a dated count beats a static list
Most India rankings recycle numbers that are weeks or months old, and the gap widened after the May 2026 bot purge trimmed about 0.5 percent from major accounts.
The measurement advantage
- A May 2026 reading is post-purge and current, so it avoids the inflated totals older Indian lists still show.
- Because every account is read on the same day, places like Deepika Padukone versus Anushka Sharma are settled cleanly rather than by mismatched sources.
- For a neighbouring market with the same dynamic, see the most-followed accounts in Brazil, and for the global context, the most-followed women on Instagram.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who has the most Instagram followers in India?
Virat Kohli, with 273.5 million followers as of May 23, 2026. He leads the next Indian account, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, by more than 170 million, so his top position is not in question.
Who is the most-followed Indian after Virat Kohli?
Prime Minister Narendra Modi at 101.6 million, followed by actor Deepika Padukone at 78.8 million. Cricket leads, but Bollywood fills most of the remaining top spots.
Is Virat Kohli the most-followed Indian in the world?
Yes. Among Indian accounts he is comfortably first, and globally he ranks among the most-followed people on Instagram, ahead of every other Indian public figure.
Why are some famous Indians missing?
This ranking covers the Indian accounts Clarvio currently tracks. A few well-known names, such as Priyanka Chopra and Alia Bhatt, are outside that sample and so are not listed, rather than estimated.
How can I check an Indian account's real follower count?
Read it on a dated basis instead of from a static list. The top Instagram accounts directory and a public-data follower check show the current count with no login required.
Final take
The most-followed Instagram account in India is Virat Kohli at 273.5 million, far ahead of Narendra Modi and the Bollywood names who fill out the measured top 10. Trust a dated count over a recycled list, and to see the live ranking and any Indian account's real number, explore the top Instagram accounts at clarvio.app.
Clarvio