On the evening of November 8, 2016, the nation was momentarily stunned into silence, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the demonetisation of the widely used Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 banknotes. Within minutes, however, TV channels showed images of citizens out on the streets, forming serpentine queues outside ATMs, waiting patiently to withdraw money. For the next 50 days, there were similar scenes outside thousands of banks and ATMs across the country, where people waited to either deposit or withdraw cash. While they verbally expressed their frustrations about the inconveniences caused by the decision, the monumental exercise went off fairly smoothly, barring a few stray incidents of violence.
Demonetisation has been a contentious issue and people continue to debate its merits. The decision has had its repercussions on the streets and in Parliament; the protests, however, have largely been peaceful. How did the government manage to handle this gargantuan exercise that caused many people great disturbance and distress? The answer lies, partly, in the manner in which the BJP involved its cadre; sending trained members to manage crowds, help citizens withdraw money, and educate the poor and illiterate on the use and benefits of electronic transactions. On social media, the cadre communicated the benefits of demonetisation and exhorted citizens to bear with short-term difficulties. It emphasised that the aim of the exercise was to increase transparency, reduce black money and corruption, and bring down prices. While some efforts backfired—like the distribution of ladoos to reward people standing in queues outside banks—the mammoth exercise was executed without undue strife.
Under the leadership of BJP president Amit Shah, the training of party cadre has recently received a fillip. During July-December 2016, the party trained 8.3 lakh members and set up offices in districts across the country. The cadre has popularised Modi’s flagship schemes by helping citizens open Jan Dhan bank accounts, take Mudra loans and make digital payments, and by creating access to capital available for start-ups. With assembly elections in five states around the corner, the BJP cadre is on the job.
Enrolling and training new members is an essential tool used by political parties to extend their reach. While most parties train their cadre from time to time, some, like the CPI(M) and BSP, have institutionalised training to maintain a committed cadre base. Thus, even when elections are lost, the core voter base remains intact.
Party cadre show unwavering public support towards their leaders. A recent example is the devotion shown by the AIADMK cadre during the illness and subsequent death of Tamil Nadu chief minister J. Jayalalitha in Chennai in December 2016. Another example is of a vociferous Trinamool Congress cadre that came out on the streets of Kolkata to support their leader, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, in her protest against demonetisation.
Stronger together: Maharashtra State Congress Seva Dal members during an election rally in Mumbai | PTI
Compared with the Vajpayee-Advani era, the Modi-Shah-led BJP has aggressively promoted training of cadre. “Training is the only means to convert a sympathetic supporter into a member,” says BJP general secretary Murlidhar Rao. “We are now becoming a national party with trained manpower. Without training, a party cannot be an engine for change. Any party which espouses transformational change takes training seriously.”
All of the BJP’s residential training camps have 150 members. Trainees are given lessons in the party’s history: the ideology of integral humanism as enunciated by its founding father Deen Dayal Upadhyaya, the cow protection movement of the 1960s, the liberation of Goa, the Kutch satyagraha, the Ram Janmabhoomi movement, and the various yatras undertaken by its leaders. The training includes lessons in social media, engaging and understanding the media, how to conduct a meeting, as well as personality development. The objective is that every trained person will take up a responsibility.
While the BJP aggressively trains its cadre, with an eye on the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the Congress had been undertaking short-term training programmes under the initiative of vice president Rahul Gandhi. “When the training cell of the All India Congress Committee was reconstituted, it conducted training camps in Chhattisgarh, Karnataka and Rajasthan, where members were coached on party ideology, history, secularism, and on subjects like personality development and behaviourism,” says AICC training cell secretary D.P. Ray.
In 2007, under Rahul’s initiative to democratise bodies like the Youth Congress and National Students’ Union of India, the Jawaharlal Nehru Leadership Institute (JNLI) was established in New Delhi. “Training modules have been developed for camps that are held at the state and district level,” says joint director of JNLI, Suresh Sharma. “These four-day camps train young activists on teamwork, effective speech, attitude, party ideology and history.”
The CPI and CPI(M) have conducted training sessions since their inception. “Communist parties have been organising training sessions for its cadre and office bearers at regular intervals,” says CPI national secretary D. Raja. “Camps are held at state and district levels. New entrants are trained in basic Marxist ideology, political economy and socialism. Every comrade should be able to articulate the party’s position and discuss new developments. They are also trained in social media skills.”
The BSP, too, gives great emphasis to training its cadre; this is evident in the impressive management of party chief Mayawati’s rallies. The Volunteer Bahujan Force manages the rallies and is responsible for the safety of its leaders. “In training camps, we tell cadre that there are five powers: employment, land, industry, religion and politics,” says BSP leader C.P. Singh, who has been with the party for more than three decades. “Anyone who controls the fifth power (politics) controls the other four. Cadre are told about the need for political awakening and the power of vote; that they need to capture politics in order to control the other four powers.” The camps—held at assembly, district and state levels—last a few hours. “No food is served at our rallies or camps,” says Singh. “We don’t believe in giving food as it sets a wrong precedent for attracting people.”
Skilled cadets: CPI(M)’s Red Volunteer Corps perform martial arts at Kannur’s Collectorate Ground | Vidhuraj MT
National parties have often envied the high levels of commitment displayed by the cadres of regional parties like the Trinamool, AIADMK, DMK and Shiv Sena, whose charismatic founders bonded intimately with their cadre, responded to their needs and loyally guarded their interests. Jayalalithaa would bond with her cadre at gatherings on festivals and anniversaries. “Amma wanted to hold a year-long celebration for MGR’s 100th birth anniversary,” says AIADMK spokesperson C.R. Saraswathi. “She would hold sports camps for the youth which led to many youngsters joining the party fold, some of whom now work in the party’s IT department.”
The DMK’s propaganda head Tiruchi Siva says the structure of the party has helped its leadership keep in touch with its cadre. “We have branches in urban and rural areas,” says Siva. “These branches have sub-branches where members are democratically elected. Everyone has a say in the election.”
The Shiv Sena does not hold ideological camps or run training schools. “We have shakhas at the municipal ward level, which are very active,” says leader Harshal Pradhan. “Here, civic, police-related and personal problems are sorted out. Workers meet regularly to discuss issues and this helps to maintain touch with the people.”
