CM goes interactive on Facebook

Pratibha Chauhan

Tribune News Service

Shimla, March 20

The relevance of social media, especially for the younger generation, is forcing many a politicians in the state, including Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh, to get more active and interactive, especially with the Assembly polls being round the corner.

The latest entrant to the list of those getting more active on social media is Virbhadra (83) himself, who though already on the Facebook for quite some time not only launched his Whatsaap number but also went live on Facebook, holding an interactive session, yesterday. The public has been invited to lodge any kind of complaints or queries on this Whatsapp number- 9816661555.

“Today is the age of social media which not only helps easy interaction sitting at home but also helps me to get feedback from people. There was a demand from the public that I should have a Whatsapp number where people can approach me anytime,” he said in his live Facebook interaction. He added that he will always be available for the public and will keep in touch with him.

The senior leaders in both political parties – Virbhadra, Shanta Kumar and PK Dhumal — have marked their presence even on twitter. In fact, Shanta has been most active on Facebook and has made some big announcements on the social media in the last few years. AICC secretary Asha Kumari too is very active on Facebook and she used it very actively during Punjab polls.

Not too many ministers barring Transport Minister GS Bali, Urban Development Minister Sudhir Sharma and lately Industry Minister Mukesh Agnihotori are active on social media. However, it is Bali who took the lead among all the Congress leaders and started his live Facebook interactive session. He has been taking questions and complaints with regard to the services being provided by the HP Road Transport Corporation and Civil Supplies department, especially with regard to supply of subsidized food items at fair price shops.

Sudhir Sharma, MLA from Dharamsala, is not really active on Facebook as the platform is used more to announce his tour progammes and functions. Sensing the relevance and the need to connect with the young voters, Agnihotri has lately been very active and is giving his programmes and rallies live on Facebook.

Amongst the BJP leaders, Anurag Thakur, MP from Hamirpur, is very active on Facebook and twitter. Among Congress legislators Sanjay Ratan and Anirudh Singh are quite active while in the BJP state president Satpal Singh Satti, Vikram Kanwar, Randhir Sharma and Jai Ram Thakur are frequent users of Facebook.

Most of these MLAs use Facebook to announce monetary grants and new projects, both from the Centre and the state government. It is being expected that in the coming days more leaders will show their interest and activeness on social media.