Harvard Team to Study Lok Satta

A team of world-renowned researchers and experts in politics is planning to study the Lok Satta Party's campaign for new politics in AP. This study would be conducted jointly by the experts from Poverty Action Lab – MIT – Harvard University. The team will be conducting an independent and objective study on the nature and conduct of the Lok Satta Party's election campaign. In particular, the team would be studying the progress of Lok Satta Party's clean politics campaign being conducted in an atmosphere of money-and-muscle power, narrow and divisive politics and the heights of 'freebies' populism.

This is a part of their efforts to document, analyze and preserve for future generations, the unique efforts and impact of Lok Satta Party in transforming the nature of the world's largest democracy.

Mr. Katari Srinivasa Rao and N. Ravinder gave this information to media today. The study will be conducted by Dr. Rohini Pande, Dr. Abhijit Bannerjee, Mr. Thomas Bossuroy and Mr. Felix Su. Dr. Rohini Pande is the Mohamed Kamal Professor of Public Policy at Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University. Dr. Abhijit Bannerjee is a Ford Foundation International Professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Thomas heads the Abdul Latif Jameel – Poverty Action Lab, South Asia and Felix Su is a research graduate from the MIT.

While noting the clear difference between LSP and other, established parties in their political culture and agenda for governance, the team of experts has expressed particular interest in Lok Satta Party's 'Second Freedom Struggle to establish New Political Culture in India, starting with Andhra Pradesh.'

Interestingly, during the First Freedom Struggle before India's independence, teams of reporters and researchers from the UK, USA, etc. closely tracked, reported upon and researched into the various campaigns led by the then national leaders. For instance, the New York Times carried almost daily reports on the Salt Satyagraha led by Mahatma Gandhi.