How to Become a Politician?

Ever wondered about the dynamics of politics and how it functions in India? Well, if the process of politics interests you, then becoming a politician might be the correct career choice for you. You must not have heard of it that much in practise but it is a course taken up by students of political science who wish to know more about the dynamics of elections in India. In this blog, we shall discuss how to become a politician and its scope in India.

What is Politics?

Politics, in simple terms, can be defined as a broad set of activities that govern the power status of institutions of a state. Broadly speaking, politics covers activities of governance of an area or a country at large, mainly between parties that represent different ideologies. It is a branch of social sciences that deals with the study of politics. The study of politics is known as political science. An individual who is involved in the study of politics is known as a politician. 

Duties of a Politician

While becoming a politician might interest you, you must also be aware of the duties that come with it. As a politician, an individual is expected to stand upto certain expectations and fulfil duties in the truest sense. The duties of a politician includes –

• Addressing issues and concerns of men
• Formulating laws pertaining to important social issues
• Campaigning for election purposes
• Making public appearance at important political meets/gatherings
• Discussing political concerns
• Serving committees of the government 

How to become a Politician?

Becoming a politician is not an easy process, especially in a country like India where every next person wants to hold a position of power. Hence, the process is very competitive and in order to become a politician, a candidate must start preparing from the initial stages. We have listed the basic steps required for becoming a politician below –

• Schooling: Students who wish to become a politician must primarily complete schooling and XIIth from a recognised board.
• Bachelor’s Degree: For undergrad, students must pursue BA/BSc in Political Science, Sociology, Economics, Business or International Relations.
• Post Graduation: Once students have completed their undergrad, they can pursue a master’s degree in politics and apply for related internships.
• Volunteering: After having completed formal education, candidates must volunteer for social work. This practise of volunteering must begin with college. Most common one is volunteering for social campaigns etc.
• Networking: Candidates must maintain a network with political leaders and parties to get a better insight of the functioning of the political groups and gaining useful experience.
• Campaigning: Candidates can kick start their career in politics by building a local impression firstly. They must campaign at the local level to begin with.
• Forming teams: Once you have successfully gathered support at the local level, you should move on to a higher level and for this forming teams is considered necessary. This requires funding as well. 
• Running Campaign: Once the above mentioned steps have been successfully completed, the final step would be to run the final campaign for the party a candidate represents. This involves delivering speeches, making promises and appealing for votes. If voted to power, the career of a candidate as a politician finally begins.

Skills Needed to Become a Politician

Like mentioned earlier, becoming a politician is not an easy process. To become a politician a candidate must possess requisite skills. The skills needed to become a politician are listed below –

• Excellent Communication Skills
• Delegation Skills
• Negotiation skills
• Decision making skills
• Problem solving skills
• Emotional intelligence 
• Unbiased nature

Other Common Career Paths to Becoming a Politician

Now a candidate might not always follow the monotonous path of becoming a politician. In India, candidates can enter Indian Politics through a number of other ways too :  

• Pursuing Civil Services– Civil servants work in close association with politicians and hence gaher the correct insights of becoming a politician. 
• Law– Law provides candidates with a thorough understanding of the legal framework around which governance should take place and politics works in India. After studying law, at an undergraduate level master’s candidates can directly enter politics.

Top Political Science Universities Abroad

For pursuing a career in Politics, it is considered to be beneficial for candidates to pursue political science at the undergrad or postgrad level. Now let’s have a look at few of the top political science universities abroad that interested students can apply to :

Popular Courses

For becoming a politician, students preferably should hold a degree in the following few courses:

Scope and Salary

The scope in the field of politics is plenty.Not only as a politician but a candidate can be assigned different roles as well. These include –

• Intern/Volunteer
• Political Consultant
• Media Strategist
• Policy Analyst
• Communications Coordinator
• Chief of Staff
• Political Pollsters
• Campaign Manager
• Legislative Aid

Salary in the field of politics is dependent on the post and designation of candidates. In India,the annual salary of a MLA is 6 lacs, in addition to which they are given a daily allowance of INR 2,000 for each day of attending parliament.

So, this was all about How to become a politician. Hope you found this blog insightful and informative. Get in touch with our Leverage Edu experts for assistance throughout the application process.