PU unions connect with web networking

CHANDIGARH: Student leaders have had an image of either being young, fiery ideologues or youths who use strong-arm tactics to win elections. The leaders in Panjab University are, however, developing into tech-savvy individuals who keep in touch with their would-be voters through internet.
Trying to garner support for Panjab University Campus Student Council (PUCSC) election, unions have started making efforts by updating the phone numbers of their departmental representatives on their respective social networking web pages.
President of Student Organization of Panjab University (SOPU), Robin Brar, said they had uploaded phone numbers on the union's Facebook account titled ''SOPU Family''. ''We are contacting students, who hope to join PU, through these sites and answering their queries,'' Brar said.
He added there were very few students who sought help through the web profile. ''They use the helpline numbers to call us,'' added Brar.
President of one of the fronts of Panjab University Student Union, Sukhjit Singh, said his organization was regularly sending messages to members through networking sites to rope in new students.
Dinesh Chauhan, an Akhil Bahratiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) leader at PU, said, ''We have our social networking profile titled ABVP Chandigarh. Students can get all the help and information required about PU as well as colleges through that,'' he said.
Chauhan said that they were also going to upload their manifesto for this academic session on their fan page.
Campus leader for National Student Union of India, Sunny Mehta, said the party did not have a profile on the networking sites. He added that he was using his personal profile to widen supporter base.
We have uploaded numbers of our departmental representatives on the party's web profile to make it easy for the students to contact us.