Thiruvananthapuram: He is 92 but veteran CPI-M leader V.S. Achuthanandan, former Kerala chief minister, who is aiming for the post again, has got more than a lakh 'likes' on his five-day-old Facebook page.

A statement issued from his office on Friday said this was achieved without any paid campaign. Achuthanandan is the most popular campaigner today in the electioneering that's gathering pace for the May 16 assembly polls.

On the flipside, a WatsApp message about the veteran starting an FB page has gone viral and it shows Achuthanandan telling an old lady: "I have started a FB page and you please extend a like." The lady replies: "In our heydays, you were against computers. And now you come with this? Please go away."

Meanwhile, the office of Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy told that his FB page was started in 2012 and the 'likes' have crossed nine lakh now.

"There will always be a surge when hugely popular personalities enter the social media, but to sustain it is more important," said an aide of Chandy.

Ace comedian and Congress candidate from the Pathanapuram assembly constituency in Kollam district Jagdish, who started his FB page on April 5, has crossed 12,000 'likes'. "While Achuthanandan has managed a 'like' from across the state and outside, Jagdish's 'likes' have more or less come from his constituency and from an election point of view, that's good," said the person managing the actor's site.

IANS