Varun Sardesai is a 'wannabe neta by choice' in Mumbai

In the first glace, Varun Sardesai seems to be an unlikely candidate for a political position, especially in a party known for its rough-and-tumble style. The 26-year-old civil engineer from Mumbai, who completed his masters in the discipline from Columbia University in the United States, is however, among those leading the Shiv Sena's social media charge.

Known for its strong mobilisation at the grass-roots, the Sena looks at its presence on social media platforms as a force-multiplier to rally the party faithful and send the message across.

Sardesai, who describes himself as a "wannabe neta by choice, and a civil engineer by profession" in his Twitter bio, is a leader and a core committee member of the Yuva Sena, the Sena's youth wing headed by party chief Uddhav Thackeray's elder son Aaditya.

Sardesai, who is Aaditya's first cousin, said he had his first brush with politics during his days at the Datta Meghe College of Engineering in Airoli, where he headed the Yuva Sena's unit in his first year. He also worked for the party during the Kalyan-Dombivali civic polls. After completing his masters, Sardesai worked in New York for around six months before coming back to India.

As a student, he took to civil engineering to help father his with his construction business.

"Our social media strategy includes projecting the Shiv Sena's 80 per cent social work and 20 per cent politics credo. The politics part is covered by mainstream media and hence, we use social media to disseminate

information about the Shiv Sena's social work," says the Vile Parle resident, who is among those leading the party's social media strategy and outreach. This in turn, is monitored by Aaditya, who has a strong presence on social media.

The party's programs, like Uddhav's rally at Beed to distribute relief to drought-hit farmers, distribution of auto-rickshaws to women drivers in Thane for plying them on a ride hailing service, and dental camps organised in municipal schools in collaboration with a dental care products major were highlighted on social media.

"The Shiv Sena focusses more on Facebook than Twitter. Our voters are more on Facebook and WhatsApp, which leads to higher engagements and posts being shared widely within two to three hours," he explains, adding that the live streaming of Uddhav's public meeting at the pilgrimage centre of Pandharpur last month had over 2 lakh views and 25,000 likes.

As the Lok Sabha polls approach, the Shiv Sena has organised interactions with party leaders, including one with Rajya Sabha MP and Saamna executive editor Sanjay Raut on the Hindutva of late party supremo Bal Thackeray and mayor Vishwanath Mahadeshwar on the BMC's progress report for 2018.

In his spare time, Sardesai likes to read, watch sports and play basketball — he was a national-level player. "I also like to travel. I move around extensively for the organisation's work and have covered almost all talukas from Nandurbar to Gadchiroli. I also go to local forts when I can during my tours and enjoy the local food," he adds.