JOIN USHe calls himself a social entrepreneur, educationist, author and a technology evangelist. Now, he is prepared to take up another role – that of a politician.
Sandeep Srivastava, an earlier AAP supporter, decided to contest the polls 20 days back when he found the “Aam Aadmi Party was transforming into Arvind ki Apni party”. On February 7, Srivastava will fight from the New Delhi seat as an independent candidate.
The Sarita Vihar resident chose to fight from the high-profile constituency partly to be the AAP chief’s “opponent”. Also, he believes all the major parties are overlooking education as an important sector.
“I know even in the wildest stretch of imagination that I will never win the elections. But I had my reasons to fight,” said Srivastava.
A pass-out of IIT Delhi, the computer engineer wants to mobilise people to prioritise education. He now runs a company which trains schools on the latest use of digital literacy.
“My only agenda is to prioritise education. Electricity and anti-corruption do not feature in my list. Bringing a revolution in education is the area which I have expertise in.”
“I was an AAP supporter till the time it was a part of the national movement. Later, I was disillusioned,” he added.
Even though joining politics was not a calculated move, Srivastava is now eyeing the 2019 Parliamentary Elections which he plans to contest as an independent again. His candidature in the current elections would help him hone the basic skills, he said.
The “technology evangelist” has authored four books till now. “I call myself a social entrepreneur because I help transform education into a different experience. I closely coordinate with teachers and principals and train them on use of technology.”
To woo voters, Srivastava – with his group of 20 colleagues – is distributing copies of abridged version of his book ‘Education 3.0’. “My campaigning is without mike, without loudspeakers.
My 20 colleagues and my wife and daughter are helping me in the process. The abridged version has 40 pages in English and another 20 in Hindi.”
Srivastava is eyeing votes from at least 500 households.
DH News Service