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The Good Politician

The Good Politician is a unique 9-month experiential program that invites 50 emerging grassroots leaders to embark on a political journey together. This experience will build their political skills, and the moral courage and imagination to lead political change across India as well as create a community of future politicians.

Applications for TGP 2024-25 are now closed.

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Applications for 2024 are now closed!

Leadership development at ISD

The Good Politician is designed to nurture principled politicians who will become servant leaders. This learning journey identifies three key stages of leadership development -

Seeing the change

Understand the system, identify problems and probe into the deeper realities of politics

Being the change

Experience the lives and realities of the people we serve

Leading the change

Prepare for their future political paths, moving forward with their learning and their projects

The program is designed for active practitioners with -

Three in-person residentials for 6 weeks in total

10 Days - Aug 22 to Sept 1, 2024

( in Delhi and Punjab)

14 days - Nov 20 to Dec 3, 2024

( in Kerala and Karnataka)

10 Days - April 4 to 14 2025

( in Jharkhand and Bihar)

Rest of the time is field time spent in their own field /constituency
Online classes every fortnight

Residential immersion in the different parts of India
Alumni support for 5-10 years

Why apply to The Good Politician?

Practical on-ground live learning

A rigorous interdisciplinary curriculum

Focus on bringing change at the local level

Regional mentorship by political leaders across parties

POLITICAL READINESS

Interdisciplinary curriculum
to build political readiness

We believe political leaders need 6 different types of capitals for success in politics. Through the program, our participants will build and leverage these capital to create meaningful change on the ground, and accelerate their political aspirations.

INTERDISCIPLINARY CURRICULUM

Curriculum that will prepare you to understand and practice principled politics

Knowing self and people

Building public narrative Forming grassroots team Social Mediation Mobilising masses Decision making and managing conflict Ethics and values Leadership Challenges and Ways
Designing political interventions

Designing surveys & research tools Interpreting constituent data Managing a political budget Planning community projects Fundraising for campaigns Evaluating progress
Creating change on the ground

Building low-cost election campaigns Social media and image management Speech, argumentation and negotiation skills Building partnerships and networks Persuasion and Mobilisation of Stakeholders Being a political worker on the ground
Immersing in current reality

India’s cultural and political context Understanding state and national parties Exploring political history of India Caste, religion and gender in politics Seeing the cultural and political conflicts Examples and models of hope
Seeing the whole system

Constitution State and national parties Panchayati Raj system Municipal corporation/council system Working with local bureaucracy Important policies and laws for governance

Faculty & Speakers

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Atishi Singh

MLA- Delhi,

Aam Aadmi Party

Asaduddin Owaisi
MP- Lok Sabha,
AIMIM

Devaji Tofa

Former Sarpanch Lekha Panchyat

Dr. Palanivel Thiaga Rajan

Minister of IT and digital services, Tamil Nadu

Dr. Sanjay Paswan

Former MP,

Bhartiya Janta Party

Mahua Moitra

Member of Parliament, TMC West Bengal

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Meenakshi Natarajan

Former MP,

Indian National Congress

Nitin Gadkari

Minister of Road Transport and Highways of India

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P. Sreemathy

Former MP,

Communist Party of India (M)

Ram Madhav

India Foundation, Bharatiya Janata Party

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S. Phangnon Konyak

Member of Rajya Sabha,

Bharatiya Janata Party

Sachin Rao

Member CWC, Indian National Congress

Sanjay Singh

Member of Rajya Sabha,

Aam Aadmi Party

T.R. Raghunandan

Former IAS Officer

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Yogendra Yadav

Psephologist, Swaraj India

... and many more political practitioners

Who are we looking for?

We are looking to find the seeds of political leadership from across the country in young leaders who -

Are at elected positions at a Panchayat, District or Municipal level
Are already serving in their field (party workers, student politicians, ex/current elected leaders, political action groups etc.)
Are planning to contest elections at Panchayat, District, Municipal or Legislative level

Have a strong commitment to serve all
Have deep local political knowledge

Other Criteria

Minimum 12th standard pass
Ages 25 - 45 years (exceptional candidates outside the bracket can be considered)
Fluency in Hindi or English
Stable source of financial sustenance

FAQs

Fees & Contribution

No one will be excluded from being part of the program because of financial constraints,

We sincerely intend to make this valuable program accessible to everyone, irrespective of socio-economic status.

For those who can afford it, we invite them to consider it as an investment in yourself and your political future.

To include and support varying paying capacities we provide generous need and merit-based scholarships from 50% up to 100%. (The actual base cost incurred by ISD per participant for The Good Politician is 2 lakhs INR).

Our selection process is completely merit-based. We will collectively find a way for all deserving candidates to be a part of the cohort even if they cannot pay for it.

The Good Politician