Catching them young: BJP expanding cadre in Maharashtra with 'yuva mitra' scheme?

Mumbai: In what could be an attempt to increase its cadre in rural parts of the state, the BJP-led government in Maharashtra launched the ‘Vivekananda Yuva Mitra Yojana’ for youths on Monday on the occasion of Swami Vivekananda’s birth anniversary, which is also celebrated as national youth day. Under the scheme, youths will be appointed as ‘yuva / yuvati mitra’ in each tehsil of the state along with 24 municipal wards in Mumbai. Apart from this, one youth will be appointed at the district level across the state. The scheme is aimed at implementing the youth programs of the state government such as arts and sports competitions, de-addiction programmes and other social programs. “The Yuva Mitra will take the government programs in the rural parts of the state for its better implementation,” said Vinod Tawde, school education and sports ministers. [caption id=“attachment_2043431” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  The government is hoping to implement youth programmes through the scheme. Reuters image[/caption]He added that the scheme is launched on the similar lines of Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan scheme launched by the Union government earlier. What makes it attractive for applicants though is the fact that a ‘yuva mitra’ at the tehsil level will get a honorarium of Rs 3,000 per while a district level representative will get Rs 5,000 per month. There are a total 358 tehsil and 35 districts in the state. Explaining the eligibility criteria for appointing the ‘Yuva Mitra’, Tawde said, “We will consider the kind of social work he has done apart from his experience in organizing social events and commitment. The appointment will be for a year on a contract basis.” The minister further said that the previous Congress-NCP led government had prepared the youth policy but it did not implement a few of the recommendations. “Various committees were appointed for preparing the youth policy. We are reviewing it and implementing some of the good recommendations,” Tawde said. stated adding that the state government is also considering giving the awards to the youths for their work on the national youth day. The scheme has got the administrative and financial approval and is likely to be implemented in the next month, he said. When asked about the appointments of ‘yuva mitra’ who had a political background, Tawde said, “A committee has been set up that is working out the details such as eligibility criteria, job profile, works hours and other details. But, the youths associated with the organizations working on various issues can be appointed under this scheme.” Political observers say that it is possible the party workers or activists from student wings are likely to be favoured under this scheme. They also see it as an attempt by the BJP to increase its strength at the booth level across the state in light of the upcoming elections to local bodies across the state. The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) has criticized the scheme saying it was merely giving an employment opportunity for its cadre. “The BJP has launched the scheme with a view to provide employment to its cadre. It is sad that the BJP is trying to give saffron touch to the government schemes,” Nawab Malik, chief spokesperson of the NCP, said.