2019: BJP builds youth army of docs, engineers

New Delhi: While the Congress and other Opposition parties struggle to set up a common platform, the BJP has stepped up its preparations for the 2019 elections by re-activating a youth cell to consolidate its support among young professionals and intelligentsia.

Christened Global Young Action Network (GYAN) Foundation, the cell will be a new avatar of group “Youth4BJP” whose 30,000 volunteers, young professionals inspired by the BJP’s policies but who were not members of the party, had added muscle to the party’s “Mission 272+” that led to the formation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi government in 2014.  

Sources said that GYAN foundation will not only educate young professionals and intellectuals on the Modi government’s flagship schemes but also conduct surveys for the BJP and gather feedback on the voters’ perception about the government’s performance.

Data collected by GYAN volunteers will be sent directly to party general secretaries (organisation) at the central and state unit levels, sources said.

“The volunteers, without taking party membership, will work as ears and eyes for the BJP. They will provide unbiased feedback to leaders,” said founder of GYAN foundation, Sumeet Bhasin.

Mr Bhasin told this newspaper that the foundation is a platform for young professionals from different fields who contribute to society and are willing to work for nation building without joining politics.

“Several young professionals working in corporate houses and multi-national companies are joining us to create awareness about Modiji’s good governance and achievements of his government in run up to next year’s parliamentary elections,” he said.

Sources said foundation volunteers have begun fanning out across the country and holding regular interactions to link up with professionals.  

Meetings with NGOs and resident welfare associations (RWAs) have also started to propagate the government’s welfare schemes and achievements, they said.

In the coming weeks, GYAN volunteers will also involved in “soft diplomacy” to attract students of foreign universities and institutions. They will also collaborate with international academia through interaction and exchange programmes to highlight the Modi government’s policies.

The foundation is also developing an interactive screen where people can find out and know about the government’s programmes and policies.

After the BJP’s defeat in 2009 Lok Sabha polls, Mr Bhasin alongwith his colleagues Kunal Kapoor, Suman Sardwal and Devender, who had worked for a group called LK Advani forum, started connecting with young professional who were inspired by Atal Behari Vajapyee.