A GEEK TO TAKE ON HEAVY POLITICAL WEIGHTS IN LUCKNOW

LUCKNOW: Contesting the September 13 by elections to the Uttar Pradesh state assembly for the Lucknow East constituency, is 41 year old Alok Singh.

This earnest technology strategist and social activist will face seasoned politicians like Juhi Singh of the ruling Samajwadi Party (SP), Gopalji Tandon (BJP) and Ramesh Srivastava of the Congress Party in polls with empty pockets, but an attitude full of fire.

“I am already helping underprivileged populations in education and health services and will continue to do so in the future,” the bespectacled geek told The Citizen.

Alok is one of many high tech professionals who left lucrative jobs in India and abroad to join the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), in the hope of practicing clean and just politics.

Deeply disappointed by the performance of AAP in recent times, Alok was in the US when he first watched Anna Hazare's India Against Corruption on television swell into a mass movement in 2011. He was so inspired that he had promptly packed his bags and traveled back to India with journalist wife Monica, and their two children.

Impressed by AAP founder and leader Arvind Kejriwal, Alok says that for a while AAP seemed to have changed politics in India and flagged off a new trend for politicians and ministers. Alok admired the common man look of AAP leaders but says that he never thought it was important to cozy up to anyone of them.

Alok made Lucknow his base and was not interested in trying to meet AAP bosses for a ticket to contest the last parliamentary elections. He was happy to work as Lucknow AAP's Facebook manager and treasurer. He made party accounts, including details of donated chairs, fan, tables and mosquito coil public online. He did not feel the need to contest the last general elections but was happy to handle 8604400606, a local helpline for almost two months.

Alok launched AAP's Lucknow chapter office in the city which is now shut down.

Alok did all this and much more for AAP but when backbiting, infighting and a lack of leadership got the better of the party in Lucknow as well, this Gorakhpur born and Agra brought up software engineer continued with social work but gave up activities at AAP.

One of Alok's role model is Dr Sandeep Pandey, Berkeley alumnus, engineer, social activist and Ramon Magsaysay Award winner in 2002, for emergent leadership.

Pandey is one of the most inspiring public figures in Lucknow today. He is remembered for having returned the cash part of the Magsaysay Award after being challenged by a Philippines newspaper for calling the American government the biggest terrorist state in the world.

Pandey has revived veteran freedom fighter Ram Manohar Lohia's Socialist Party from the 1950s as a platform for people of all sections of society to participate in day to day politics. Pandey is quick to remind youngsters like Alok the power of popular action and Lohia's impatience with the incompetence of even elected governments.

Lohia was of the view that people should strip the power of non performing governments even before the end of their term in office if necessary. That giant amongst socialists, Lohia is remembered for having moved the first no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru's government in the early 1960s in the same spirit.

“Our future is too precious to be left to governments. Civil society has to be forever vigilant, forever actively participating in shaping its destiny,” says Alok who feels that to make the country strong and free of corrupt practices all citizens need to have a stake in it and all well meaning people must participate in the politics of the day.

This is why he had sided with Kejriwal when it was decided that the AAP will contest elections, and not remain just a movement of the masses outside parliament.

Pandey has convinced Alok to contest the by-polls as an independent candidate. Alok is supported by Pandey's Socialist Party (India) after being impressed by Pandey's relentless fight against the demolition of slums without proper rehabilitation.

The alumnus of the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) Bangalore promises to continue to fight social injustices if elected from the prestigious Lucknow East constituency left vacant by BJP stalwart Kalraj Mishra, now a Lok Sabha member and Union Cabinet Minister of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises in the BJP led NDA government of Prime Minster Narendra Modi.

Only a few more days to go, the people of Lucknow East are still undecided. Voters are undecided over trusting the untested but very earnest Alok who promises alternative politics or to go for politics as usual by voting for seasoned money bags in a constituency represented in the past by Congress stalwarts like CB Gupta and Swaroop Kumari Bakshi?