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Students of the elite Indian Institute of Management in Kolkata are vying for an internship with the ruling Trinamool Congress to be a part of the party's Lok Sabha war-room.
"Out of the 31 students, only two would be selected for the two-month-long internship that will begin from March 15," Trinamool MP and spokesperson Derek O'Brien said.
"The response to our call for internships has been overwhelming. We had sought applications from only final year students but 17 first year students also applied. We have shortlisted 14 final year management students," he told PTI.
Before they enter the corporate boardroom, the students would help the party devise and execute effective communication strategies during the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.
The 14 shortlisted applicants would be asked to sit for a group discussion conducted by five core members of the party, followed by a personal interview to test their communication skills and understanding of Indian politics.
The selected interns would work at the TMC headquarters on Topsia Road with the party's communication team and All India Trinamool Congress Yuva president Abhishek Banerjee.
Derek said they would be allotted assignments like executing the party's communication strategies, sharpening social media skills, handling logistics, etc.
In 2011, before the state Assembly polls, the party had similarly taken two interns Hariharan Sriram and Mansha Tandon.
Sriram said: "My time with TMC convinced me that a political party is like any corporate entity, only more intense. There was the rigour of timeliness and deadlines, and the fact that every move of the party and its leadership is being closely scrutinised by millions, creates immense pressure on them.”