“Why not run for any political office?”, Sudhanshu Kaushik, the founder of Young India Foundation (YIF), poses to a room of 8 bright, motivated and politically ambitious youth in Mumbai.
After a few moments of strained silence and confused looks, the candidates turn to each other: “I guess I haven’t thought of it” Shardul Walwadkar, one of the participants, says slowly, “I don’t even know what running entails.”
This is exactly what YIF aims to change with its Candidate Bootcamp Series, a two-day workshop aimed at readying those between 20 and 30 years of age to run for public office in the upcoming election cycles. Despite extensive rhetoric around getting more politically involved, there are almost no programs in the country that educate young people on the nuances, paperwork and processes of running for office or prepares them in equal measure for challenges of the same.
In a way, this lack of transparency is an entry barrier in itself. Knowledge of these processes is limited to a select few families who moulded and readied their successors to take on these positions. By readying other candidates – independent candidates – with this same knowledge, YIF hopes to level the electoral playing field further.
Some candidates are already on a mission. Born and raised in Bharuch, Gujarat, Vraj Shah plans on running to be a Sarpanch. He accredits his (hopefully) future success to his deep and intimate knowledge of the land, “I’ve lived here my whole life, I know this place very well.” Others like Radhika Dhingra, a PhD candidate in Solid Waste Management are figuring out the best entry point into government given their technical interests. And some, like Rohan D’Souza, are navigating the path between healthcare policymaking and politics. For someone who has stayed within the silos of political indifference, he is now opening up to the fact that actively running in local, state and general elections is a more direct way of affecting policy changes. And perhaps most importantly, some candidates are intent on starting extremely early: Ritwik Agarwal, a third-year college student quips, “I know I’m too young but I’m here to figure out the process as soon as I can.”
Make no mistake, these candidates are in no way misguided. Their interests, personal stories and careers have led them to this very boot camp. Their hopes for their candidacy come from voids that they hope to fill. Take, for instance, Utpala, a current student at TISS. Her introduction on Day 1 of the boot camp left no stone unturned, “I come from the marginalized Chakma community, a tribe from Arunachal Pradesh. You may not have heard of us, and that is exactly what I wish to change. It is my dream to create an identity for my people, one that is both Indian and tribal. Even in 2019 my people, who have thrived in the North East Frontier, are still treated like foreign refugees.” It is her own personal past that drives her to create a more equal India. She hopes to contest MLA elections once she is a citizen.
Some candidates like Pallavi Sankhe and Prachi Singhal have worked in the Chief Minister’s Office and the development sector respectively and are looking to take on a more professional approach in bringing innovative policies, rooted in technology, to local levels of government.
Leading these candidates are trainers who have spent considerable time in multifaceted roles in politics and policy-making at local, state and central levels. They hail from different parts of the country but are gathered in Mumbai to contribute their anecdotal experiences and deep knowledge in the field. Chandrika Bothra, a third-year law student from Kolkata travelled to Mumbai over the weekend for this boot camp. She broke down the 2019 general election by explaining the actual convictions and accusations surrounding candidates and then segueing into campaign finance laws.
Amit Bansal, the founder of Next Election, led a 2-hour session on Media and Messaging. His point was simple, coherent and urgent: “If there is no accountability, there is no democracy.” Hargun Singh, an INC youth wing leader spoke about on the ground strategy for booth management and Antaraa Vasudev, founder of CIVIS, ended the session by stressing the responsibility of good governance once candidates are in the office.
After two days of strategizing, understanding paperwork and throwing hundreds of questions at their trainers, these eight individuals have completed YIF’s first boot camp. Our team did not expect our claims – that there are young people in Mumbai who will show up to learn how to participate in local elections – to be validated so widely. But here we are.
Amidst each session, group discussions and presentation, every single YIF volunteer could not help but beam at the room and as I looked on from the corner, I know what they were thinking: There is so much hope in our generation. For every communal statement, there are people willing to coalesce crowds and for every jaded politician who questions the credibility of young people running for office, there is my inbox full of messages asking about the next boot camp. From everything I experienced this weekend, I can say that the future of this country is in the hands of those who will question, not conform and instead persevere.
And that alone is enough.