Indian School Of Business Vol 6

A career in
Politics?

GURUKUL
BY CAS
(In collaboration with CAC)
SEPT 2019

An MBA degree is one of the most coveted qualifications you can pursue to
develop skills required for business and management. The value of the MBA,
however, is not limited strictly to the business world, and there is much more to
it than what is generally perceived.
Politics is one of the most obvious examples, where a management degree can
increase the skills of an individual by leaps and bounds. Age is not “just a
number” when it comes to politicians. The average age of a member of
parliament of India is 54 years, which is quite alarming for a country which has
more than 65% of its population under 35 years of age. The least that we can
conclude from this statistic is that the youth of the country is terribly
underrepresented at the highest decision-making body. The relatively older
leaders, although being much more experienced than their younger peers, lack
the dynamism and energy needed to address the issues at the grass root level.
No wonder we see such inefficient government policies as far as the youth is
concerned. The situation is further aggravated by the omnipresent corruption
and the image of politicians that has been created over the years in minds of
the people.
The CAS Newsletter
Politics in India is generally perceived to be a dirty game where you need to shed
your morals and adopt an unscrupulous, hypocritical and devious way of living.
This prejudice, which is unfortunately not baseless, discourages students and
educated people from joining politics. Largely, politics is not considered a career
in India, and with good reason. However, if the country has to change, it is
necessary and imperative for some young blood to enter politics and bring a
change in the system.

Now, more than ever, there is a need for more academically qualified politicians,
who have a wider perspective and a diversified view. An MBA degree helps a lot
in honing an individual’s problem solving and teamwork skills. Also, a political
leader with an MBA degree will be a far better option than otherwise as he will
be able to handle the finances of the party more efficiently, will be able to run
the promotional campaign more strategically, and can manage the human
resources more effectively. So it is time fresh management graduates start
thinking about politics as a career option, and not just looking down on it, doing
nothing.

JOINING POLITICS IS A CAREER CHOICE IN INDIA TODAY

Lately, there has been a change in the political system of India. Several educated
people who held positions of power in the private sector quit their jobs to make
a career in politics. Although not all of them won the elections they contested,
they have remained on the path of public service.

One of the most prominent people to do this is Meera Sanyal. She quit her
position as the country’s head of RBS to join politics. Nirmala Sitaraman was the
senior manager of research and analysis at Pricewaterhouse Coopers and worked
at the BBC World Service before she joined politics. There are numerous people
like them – Arvind Kejriwal, Sachin Pilot, Jyothiraditya Scindia and many others.
So, for people who are driven and have the passion to do something good for the
country, politics was and is an option. However, it cannot be denied that the vast
difference in the social and economical scenario in the present day when
compared to the past has made the present a more conducive time for people
who want to choose politics as a career option.
A career in politics can give you high dividends. However, the going is
very tough. The hurdles that people encounter often discourage
them from taking politics as a career. One of the biggest hurdles is
money. If you want to begin your political journey by contesting the
elections, you need to have a lot of financial backup. If you are a
worthy candidate, you can expect some backing from private
enterprises. However, you need to be able to raise enough money.
Another hurdle is to find a footing in an industry dominated by
established politicos. However, if you are truly interested in a career
in politics, you need to treat it like a corporate system and begin at a
lower level. You have a good chance of scaling heights in the years to
come.

Political Analyst analysts are a kind of Political Scientists who research

political systems of their country and their relationship with foreign
countries, advise their leaders about the foreign policies to be
followed with different foreign governments on their input and
research. They also help develop various political theories based on
the analysis of historical agreements , treaties, documents and
statistics. They are also apt to analyze the political situation in a
particular region and report on election results or forecast political
trends.
WHAT ARE THE ROUTES OF ENTERING POLITICS?

Politics is not all about sitting on the chair of a minister or contesting elections.
Did you know that the Prime Minister of India, Dr. Manmohan Singh has never
contested an election in his life? There is a huge machinery that runs behind the
scenes in the political system. For instance, every politician requires strategists,
campaign managers and other such professionals. You can become a part of the
team and contribute towards country building activities. The back-end functions
will be a good place to start your political career. With such experience, you
learn about the nuances involved and can enrich yourself with the practical
knowledge.
Joining student political groups or contesting for elections in unions can help
you take the baby steps in politics. This is how one of the topmost leaders in the
country, P. Chidambaram started his career. He was the union leader when he
worked at MRF. From there, he worked his way up in the party and has held
crucial portfolios such as union home minister and union finance minister.
You can register yourself as a working member of a party and begin your political
career. If you do good work, you can scale to be a ward president, corporator
and gradually take on greater responsibilities in the party machinery.
But can an honest political career keep you financially comfortable? Well, you
won’t get a very high salary. A corporator in India gets around Rs. 25,000.
However, the benefits are good. You get all the benefits such as house rent
allowance, travel allowance, leave travel concession, retirement benefits, health
insurance and others.
If you are serious about entering politics, you could equip yourself with the
required knowledge by studying political science in college. Although politics
does not require any educational qualifications, you’ll find it beneficial to know
about the system. An MBA degree will also come in very handy.

THE BOTTOM LINE

Although making a career in politics takes time, intelligence, money and effort,
it is a possibility in India, especially today when people of the country are
receptive to new leaders in politics. The sooner you begin a career in politics,
the better for you because finding a footing in this field could be a slow uphill
climb.