It is a dream debut. Over 15,000 ‘Likes’ within 24 hours of making one’s formal bow on the Facebook cannot be anything but that.
Pinarayi Vijayan, Communist Paty of India (Marxist) State secretary, had joined the social networking site on November 17, but put his first post around 9 p.m. on Tuesday. What followed was a torrent of ‘Likes’, over 500 every hour.
Mr. Vijayan’s first post was one marked by hopes for the morrow: for stronger mass movements that would ensure better life for all, carry forward the anti-imperialist struggle and wage a relentless battle against anti-democratic tendencies and communalism. By Wednesday afternoon, he followed it up with a second post reminding the Congress and United Democratic Front (UDF) leadership about the ‘futility’ of the Cabinet shake-up.
By early Wednesday evening, the number of ‘Likes’ to his posts had crossed 10,000 and by late night the number was racing towards an average of thousand every hour.
The State CPI(M) announced Mr. Vijayan’s entry into the social network through a press note and party sources said the decision to have an official page for the party secretary was taken to avoid confusion as there were a few unauthorised pages in his name.
Among those who have commented on his posts is Sebastian Paul, former MP and political commentator. He wrote: “2014 is the year of the great combat. Captain is ready. And this is the time for all good men to come to the side of the party.”
