HYDERABAD: With speculation of a possible second innings for former president APJ Abdul Kalam at the Rashtrapathi Bhavan gaining momentum, it is no wonder that the Twitterati and Facebook users have sparked off a feverish campaign in his favour.
From pages sharing Kalam’s speeches to those manned by his dedicated fans, all have been pitching for him as President Pratibha Patil’s term is set to end on July 24.
With 5,562 likes on last count and multiple shares, https://www.facebook.
com/APJKalamForPresident started in December 2011 has been quite popular.
The ex-president’s students at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Hyderabad have been active in cross-posting the online message, despite semester-end examinations ruling their lives.
The scientist in Kalam connects to the engineering graduates who believe in his vision of ushering in a change in the country through science and technology.
“He is the obvious choice for me and my friends.
He has the know-how, technical skills and the experience to take the country forward.
Also, we would like to proclaim proudly that the President of India taught us rather than the ex-president,” says Gopinath Raja, a final-year student of B.Tech at IIT-H.
He is one among many who have taken the course taught by Kalam.
As part of their online activism, Raja and his friends have been on a mission to garner as many ‘shares’ for the page as possible.
The irony that the role of a President might leave Kalam with little time to teach does not seem to bother them.
“He has a busy schedule anyway and knowing his love for teaching, we are sure he will come back to teach at IIT-H,” says Gopinath Raja.
Despite the examinations and busy schedule, students are equally excited about Kalam trending on Twitter on Monday.
“Even as a kid I was fascinated by his personality and the day I came to know he would be taking a class for us, I couldn’t wish for anything more.
He is definitely my choice for the next president.
Though I haven’t been on Facebook and Twitter much due to the examinations, I will make sure my facebook friends get this post,” says P Akshara, a student of final-year electrical engineering at IIT, Hyderabad.
Though there are close to eight groups and communities on Facebook favoring Kalam as the next president, the one shared by the young techies has caught the fancy of the social network users.