The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh / Hyderabad News : Election fever grips corporate sector

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Monday, Apr 20, 2009
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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh - Hyderabad

Election fever grips corporate sector

Yogendra Kalavalapalli

HYDERABAD: Khadi might not be out but jeans and branded corporate wear are definitely in. If there was something that set apart this election season with its predecessors, it was the upsurge in political activism witnessed in the corporate sector.

Jean-clad youngsters, togged up in caps or scarves of their respective parties and pitching for the different candidates were a common sight, especially in pockets where IT and ITeS employees were concentrated.

In campaign mode

The impact of global recession on the Indian industry, rising job insecurity and discontentment with the existing political set up are some of the factors working executives point at for propelling them into the campaign mode.

“At some point, we thought somebody will come and change our political system, uproot corruption in the society, utilise available resources properly and take the country forward, but nothing of that sort has happened. Our patience has been tested to the maximum and that, I think, is the reason why more people from the corporate sector are campaigning for political parties this time round,” says B.K.S. Naik, software professional and Lok Satta Party (LSP) supporter.

Winds of change

Some like M. Santosh Kumar, a software developer point out towards the corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives of their companies.

“We often work closely with NGOs and societies, which have helped identify the problems of the needy and made us more socially-aware,” he says.

The huge voter base, comprising mostly of youngsters, in the corporate sector has not missed the eyes of the leaders either. Major political parties like PR, TDP and Congress have all capitalised on the huge chunk votes. Each of them have IT wings targeting, specifically the corporate sector.

Going by the levels of political activism witnessed in the corporate world this election season, some wonder, will it be the harbinger of change in the times to come.

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