Lok Sabha Election 2014: AAP catapults social activists to national stage; AAP catapults social activists to national stage, AAP, Lok sabha Poll 2014
- Details
- Parent Category: Political News
- Last Updated: Thursday, 22 January 2015 20:56
Lok Sabha Election 2014: AAP catapults social activists to national stage.
NEW DELHI: They have long been dismissed as "jhola-walas". Now, thanks to a political platform provided by Aam Aadmi Party, social activists are centre-stage in the policy debate. Over one-third of candidates fielded by AAP for the Lok Sabha polls are activists fighting for tribal rights, health, education, illegal land-grabbing and giving voice to their communities' tradition and culture.
Around 120 of the 350-odd candidates announced by the party are described as social activists. These include lawyers who have filed public interest litigations or fought for public causes, doctors who provide charitable healthcare and rights activists who have resisted displacement of their people.
Like Narendra Gupta contesting from Chittorgarh, Rajasthan, whose NGO Prayas works towards providing basic services like health and education for the deprived tribal population or Kerala's Silvi Sunil fielded from Idukki who left a nursing job to offer medical services to abandoned street people. Kotiganahalli Ramaiah from Kolar in Karnataka quit college to join the Dalit Sangharsha Samiti spearheading the struggle against caste discrimination and land rights.
Much of the spotlight has been on Narmada Bachao Andolan's Medha Patkar, tribal activist Soni Sori, People's Movement Against Nuclear Energy Udayakumar and farmers' right activist Lingaraj but there are scores of activists across the country who have been catapulted to a national stage thanks to AAP.
For instance, Hemant Kumar, contesting from Hubli-Dharwad, dropped out of IIT to lead the farmers' movement under the aegis of the Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha while Nobel peace prize nominee Tiliya Devi from Jhanjharpur in Bihar, a bonded labourer married at 14 years, motivated women in her village to reclaim land grabbed by the upper castes.
Lok Sabha Election 2014 AAP candidate list..New
Satya Mahar, AAP's candidate from Odisha's Kalahandi seat, is the leader of a citizen's forum, Sachetan Nagarik Manch, which led the Niyamgiri protest movement for tribal land.
There are others like Dayamani Barla from Khuntia in Jharkhand who led a successful protest against Arcelor Mittal's plant on 11,000 acres of farmland in Khunti and Gumla and was awarded the Ellen L Lutz Indigenous Rights Award for protecting tribal rights or Shivakumar N Tontapura from Koppal in Karnataka who runs a voluntary educational institution despite complete visual impairment.
Also Read: Opinion poll | Candidtate list | Election Schedule | Lok Sabha News
Speaking on the large number of activists in the fold, AAP leader Prashant Bhushan said, "It was our objective to ensure that honest, selfless people who have raised public interest issues and showed commitment to people's issues should be in politics."
It remains to be seen, however, how many of these social activists turned politicians are successful. "Many of the candidates that we have fielded have not been successful politically before. You have to be winnable not only as an individual but also as a party. AAP has been able to provide a successful vehicle for such individuals," Bhushan said.
source:timesofindia