Politicians represent people who elect them, their constituency, to look after their welfare. They are representatives of people at the district, state or central levels. They take up issues on behalf of their constituencies at the governing body to which they are elected. It’s a position of power since they decide on behalf of others and also because they hold the responsibility for the financial and social programs that run in their constituencies. Politicians in a democratic country like India have to win elections. Politicians include the people who hold decision making powers and also the people who seek to hold these powers and positions. Politicians are often members of a political party. They represent the party’s ideologies at Central, State and District levels.
Politics is a challenging career. There often exists immense power struggle to get elected and to stay elected. They have to take part in competitive processes to have money and programs allocated for the welfare of people they represent.
Some politicians move into decision making roles such as ministers who take up responsibilities across multiple different constituencies. They initiate and execute the law – making process.
What do Politicians do?
Politicians are elected representatives with the sole purpose of addressing the concerns of the public and coming up with ways to solve their problems. Politicians work towards achieving the vision that they have for the society.
The first step that a Politician has to take is to fight elections. Politicians have to share their ideologies and vision with the public and persuade the public to elect them as their representative. This is one of the most crucial tasks that a Politician has to perform. It involves campaigning, organizing rallies and giving speeches to convince the public to vote for you.
Once elected, a politician makes laws and legislations. Politicians participate in the decision making process and keep the interests of the public in mind before supporting or going against a proposed law. If needed, they can also propose changes in current laws that might be approved if they are passed by the legislative bodies.
Politicians make sure that law and order is maintained within the boundaries of their legislative area. It is the responsibility of a Politician to make sure that there is no crime in his/her area. They instruct the Police in order to make sure that criminals are punished and innocent people can live safely.
Politicians who are members of political parties have to perform an additional task. They have to adhere to party principles and implement the party’s ideologies in their administrative process.
It is necessary for Politicians to look after the economic and social situation of their legislative area. They have to work towards alleviating poverty and slums, and move towards social and economic equality within their legislation.
Politicians have to constantly work on creating new policies that will be beneficial for the public. They work for the betterment and welfare of people in any and every way possible. New policies have to be created that can help in solving problems of the area that the Politician represents.
Politicians constantly lead people from the front and initiate social change. It is their job to ensure that the society progresses. They motivate and lead people in a new direction that is better for the society as whole.
How to become a Politician?
Of course you would need to win elections. At the school and college level, you can take part in student body elections to experience the process. At the college level, these elections are conducted and contested very professionally. Most political parties have their student wings and college level elections are often won by members of the student wings of political parties. People who do well in these elections often move up to join the mainstream political parties. After the college level elections, once you complete your education, you should contest local elections for municipal corporations and legislative assemblies.
The path to becoming a politician is extremely competitive and cut throat. It is advisable to choose and pursue another profession simultaneously to manage the uncertainty of becoming successful. Though it is advisable to take a profession that would eventually help you as a politician you can take up almost any profession. There is no specific educational requirement to become a politician. There are some Politicians who are Economists and Engineers, whereas there are some Politicians who have not even completed their schooling.
If you know from the very start that you want to become a Politician, you can start concentrating on subjects like history and political science. It is advisable that you take up Arts after your 10th grade.
Once you complete your schooling, you can pursue subjects like History, Political Science or even Philosophy. It is advisable that you choose to study Law. A degree in law can be of great help to a Politician as you often need to work on making new laws and implementing them.
Law is a generally a 5 year course, but some universities offer 3 year courses as well. Once you complete your college, you will be provided with a B.A, LLB (Hons.).
While you pursue your alternate profession after college, you can join a political party. You would start by working as a volunteer in local elections and then slowly move up the ladder and start contesting local elections by becoming the party’s chosen candidate for that area.
Once you get selected by a party to fight for elections from a particular area, you would have to start campaigning. You would have to arrange funds for your campaign, give speeches and organize rallies. The basic purpose of an election campaign is to inform the public about your ideologies and persuade them to vote for you. It is essential to build a sense of trust with the public at this stage.
An alternate route is to become successful in your alternate profession and become popular in your community first. Say, a Lawyer or a Social Worker in a small town who does good work in his area has a strong chance of being elected irrespective of the party he may choose to join. Some of such people choose not even to join a party but contest as independent candidates if they can afford the cost and the effort to take on organized political parties. The advantages of this route are that you can choose to follow your own ideologies and vision without any interference from the party headquarters.
Irrespective of what route you take to become a Politician it is absolutely essential to focus on networking. You have to meet as many people as possible, build contacts, share your ideologies and establish trust. It helps when people see you as a respectable and honest person who they can easily trust.
Finally, politicians have to have great Public Speaking skills. It is necessary to be a good orator if you want to be a successful Politician. You should be able to persuade and move people through your speeches. People should look up to you as their leader. It is advisable to take some Leadership and Public Speaking workshops as they can help boost confidence.
What are the skills required to become a Politician?
Politicians are people that have to constantly make decisions that impact a large number of people. Therefore, it is absolutely essential for Politicians to have the ability to assess the pros and cons of every decision. Politicians need to have excellent public speaking skills as they have to constantly give speeches. It is necessary for politicians to possess great social skills and be able to establish good relationships with people. They need to be confident and honest. Politicians need to be crystal clear regarding their views as the public chooses them on the basis of these views. They need to have leadership skills so that people can look up to them. Politicians also need to have administrative skills as they have to look after the daily functioning of a large area. Politicians should have the ability to create and analyze budgets as well as manage finances so that their expenditure does not exceed the desired limit. Most importantly, Politicians need to be determined, hard working, self – less and have a genuine desire to serve the society and improve it in as many ways as possible.
Is this the right career for me?
Politicians lead a very difficult life. They have to constantly deal with criticism and work for long hours every day, throughout the year. There is very little job security as you might not be re elected in the next elections. They deal with constant pressure to perform and have to please a large number of people for a very small income. Politicians have to be self – less and concerned about the state of the society as a whole.
So if you’re genuinely interested in working for other people and can rally their support, and if you’re willing to work for very little money and appreciation for the sake of your ideologies, then this might just be the perfect job for you.
