The outcome speaks volumes about what youth energy can do if provided an opportunity. In Nepal, young people involved at policy-level or on any other political playfield rarely travel beyond the walls of public colleges. But the situation is not all bleak, either. Change is gradually happening. [break]
Sweating it out are young guns, as the backbone of the political leaders on whose hands is the country’s present and the future.
They are the ones who help the leaders get reality checks. They are the ones who in one or the other way help bridge the gap between leaders and the public.
As they work closely with the leaders, their suggestions and decisions also act as the first advice. And if one has to go by what leading journalists say, these young political aides also play a fair share of role to shape the public image of the leaders they work for.
The Week met some of the political aides for this special edition. These young guns share a common fervor for politics, work 24/7 and all agree that working with their leaders is also about preparing themselves for future.
If you want to change the system, you have to first get inside the system seems to be their mantra.
600 calls a day
Chiranjibi Adhikari, 28
Personal life is non-existent when you work in this field.
“There’s no such thing as lunchtime or personal space when one steps into politics, and this is what I’ve learnt from observing his life for past two and half years,” says the 28-year-old of Chiranjibi.
His own works prove the statement. He does not have day-offs of his own, either. His day kicks off at six in the morning with surfing all the newspapers and filtering news that should reach NC leader Ramchandra Poudel.
After briefing the leader about his programs for the day and a round of talk about politics and current issues, Chiranjibi accompanies Poudel to all events.
A rough estimation has it that he gets at least 600 calls a day. Along with having a separate work number, he also manages Poudel’s personal phone calls the entire day. “I hand the phone over to him before we part in the evening.” And finally, around nine, he calls it a day.
“All sorts of people request for jobs, personal benefits and invitations to events. And as a personal assistant, one has to go through each of them, do background research, filter them and prioritize accordingly,” informed the smartly dressed Chiranjibi.
So it is an obvious question as to how he manages time for his studies and family. Handing his phone over to Poudel’s security personnel, who accompanies him to meetings, and hinting at him to respond to the call, he informs that it is after work he takes time to flip through his books.
“Apart from that, he (Poudel) manages to take half a day off on Fridays. Otherwise, there’s never a dull moment.”
After working in Poudel’s election constituency of Tanahu in 2000, Chiranjibi was summoned to Kathmandu to work for the leader. However, his political life began early.
While still attending grade seven, he was elected as joint secretary to Nepal Student Union (NSU)for his school. He then went on to be NSU’s district secretary for Tanahu.
Inspired by his father who was a social worker, the student of Sociology at Tri-Chandra College stepped into politics and considers it to be social work.
When queried about the recent political consultations he had with Poudel, he informs that it was on agriculture. “I share similar beliefs with him when it comes to agriculture. Unless this particular sector isn’t improved, Nepal can’t prosper. Thus, one of the ways of doing so is introducing agriculture insurance.
Every year, we hear loss of crops and the state has failed to compensate the farmers, which is a big loss to the country and a discouraging factor for the farmers too.”
Aiding her father
Chetana Baidhya, 25
A Bachelor student in Rural Development and Political Science at Tri-Chandra College, Chetana is one of the three daughters of Mohan Baidhya.
She could pass as a commoner in the streets and it can come as a surprise that the daughter of a top Maoist leader was an active party member during the insurgency and experienced seven years of underground life.
Like Bishwadeep, personal secretary to Maoist leader Dr Baburam Bhattarai, she joined the Maoist revolution at the age of 17. She started as an area committee member in Dolakha and eventually was promoted to a district committee.
Growing up in a political environment and the party’s ideology were two things that tempted her to join the movement.
She has been personal secretary to Mohan Baidhya for the past three years, and is also a Maoist state committee member. However, of late, she is concentrating on her education and decreasing the number of meetings that she usually attended with Mohan Baidhya.
“These days, I manage most of my works on the phone,” she informs. Along with attending lectures, she also takes tuition. “Because of my political life, I couldn’t continue my studies,” says Chetana.
When it comes to challenges, being a young woman working for an influential leader, she says that at times people tend to take her less seriously. But she was aware of such mentality. “I grew up in a Brahmin family where my grandfather was strict when it came to females. Since such scenes still prevail, the reason to join the movement was also to work for brining changes.”
Contrary to what images appear when one talks about Mohan Baidhya—he being a hardliner—she says it is just a negative portrayal of him.
“He’s a thoughtful person. So working with him hasn’t been an issue.” She feels that he is adhering to the reason why the movement was started for.
An aspirant
Bishwadeep Pandey, 26
Bishwadeep was 17 when he was appointed Bhattarai’s personal secretary. The young chap hasn’t looked back since then. He aspires to step into mainstream politics.
Leading journalists credit Bishwadeep for loosening up Baburam Bhattarai’s serious disposition, making him dearer amongst the public.
Bishwadeep concurs that of the several works that an aide performs is bringing out a leader’s positive persona to the public. “This helps leaders win people’s hearts and minds and makes leaders more alert regarding their responsibilities,” he observes.
For Biswhadeep, a leader is also about the company he keeps. “Over time, a void creates itself between the public and leaders as they become engrossed in their work. Thus the leader needs to have a person to filter and deliver up-to-date information and issues.”
Before being designated the position, Bishwadeep started as a district committee member for All Nepal National Free Student Union Revolutionary (ANNISUR) in Rupandehi. He says that besides his father’s influence, also a Maoist leader, his inclinations to Communism strengthened because of the party’s philosophy of working for the empowerment of the society’s oppressed groups.
Apart from accompanying Baburam to several parts of the countries pre- and post-insurgency, he has accompanied the leader to 11 countries. With traveling, he says that some of the perks of the job are also being able to learn and work closely with the leaders and knowing the cubes and squares of politics.
Ten years of work with the party and the leader has not been a smooth ride for Bishwadeep. It has come with its shares of ups and downs. “When we were underground in New Delhi, I used have conversation with a mirror,” he adds with laughter, “You know, Baburam Sir isn’t much into talking.”
For him, the time spent with Baburam has also been a learning experience in his personal life. “There have been times when frustration has taken its toll,” he says, recalling a 2005 incident when Baburam was expelled from the Party. “Had it not been for Baburam Sir, I would’ve lost faith in the Party because I had reached a point where I was questioning its ideology.”
Bishwadeep has earned good reviews from journalists regarding his networking skills and working methods. For instance, during his tenure as Finance Minister, Baburam not only got pats on his back for his works but also came into limelight for returning his official vehicle. “Such incidents make a difference.”
Also a regular opinion writer for vernacular dailies such as Nagarik and Kantipur, Bishwadeep is also building groundwork to form a youth forum along with other young politicians, currently.
Gen Net
Bishnu Rijal breathes a new life into an old system.
Bishnu, who turns 32 in a few days, is formally a member of UML’s central department for publicity. Informally, he also is a close political advisor to Madhav Kumar Nepal. Even after Nepal’s premiership, Bishnu has been equally active in political discussions and diplomatic meetings with the leader.
When Nepal served as prime minister for 20 months from May 2009, Bishnu changed the system of how the Prime Minister’s Office functioned, at least in the virtual world.
Not only did PM Nepal had an updated website with all his activities and programs beforehand but he also published eight books (four volumes in Nepali and four in English) of his speeches as PM.
“In Nepal’s context, this is the first time that such step has been taken, which will help the coming generation for research,” he says. He, however, agrees that though it might be a very small step, such initiatives should help change the system for better.
For his works, he claims that America’s former vice president Al Gore’s press advisor came to visit him during her Nepal visit to congratulate him for establishing a better method of working despite resource limitations.
Though the work earned him admiration, personal sacrifices had to be made. “I was pretty distant from my family for a while. By the time I was home, my daughter would be sleeping; when I left home she would still be sleeping. So quality time became quite an issue,” he observes.
At present, works have comparatively been easier, says the Masters in Mass Communication graduate, who also runs Budhabar weekly that has close tie-ups with his party.
He became affiliated with the party’s publicity department in 2005 after four years of switching his position from the student union to the party.
However, Bishnu was politically active since his school days when he became All Nepal National Free Student Union (ANNISU)’s district chairperson of Dailekh.
Initially, when he started working for the party and Madhav Nepal, he had inferiority complex because of his age. “But you learn the hard way.”
When the talk directs to Nepal’s politics, which has earned so much hatred from the public, he says that if quality people don’t join it, useless ones will fill up the positions, pushing the country to more turmoil.
“If a person feels for the country and thinks he can better the system, it’s high time to join one and lead from wherever he can.
It necessarily doesn’t have to be politics, though.” And Bishnu is attempting to do just that from the position he is working at.
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