KOCHI: From contesting against Narendra Modi in the Lok Sabha elections to starting a hugely popular TikTok account ‘Lost Prime Minister’, the Kochi-based IT entrepreneur U S Aashin’s life has been nothing short of a fairy tale. So popular is his micro vlogging activism that over five lakh people have used the #lostprimeminister so far.
Penning a new chapter to his adventure, the national election coordinator of the Indian Gandhian Party has now started a new campaign, ‘Real Heroes’, through the video platform to find prospective candidates for the upcoming local body elections in the state. Though symbolical, he filed nominations against Narendra Modi and Rahul Gandhi in the last Lok Sabha elections. While his nomination was rejected in Amethi, he managed to garner 504 votes in Varanasi against Modi.
Though he was mocked for the defeat, he assumed the sobriquet ‘Lost Prime Minister’ and used the same when he started the TikTok account. “The name does have the ‘Anagamaly’s Prime Minister’ (from Malayalam film Kilukkam) ring to it. Of course, it was a calculated move. Being a tech entrepreneur, I studied the TikTok trending patterns and used ‘#lostprimeminister’ in each post. The majority of my videos were made to avoid boredom during the lockdown. But they were well received by the audience. Their reaction has given the confidence to give it a spin of activism,” he said.
On the ‘Real Heroes’ campaign, the Google’s certified ad professional, said that he entered politics due to the frustration over the existing system. “I am sure our generation would be feeling the same. I want to tap their potential and give them a platform to become the leaders of tomorrow. All they have to do is to post a video about the issues of their respective divisions. We are hoping to get a candidate from each ward for the next election,” said Aashin, the founder of BC to AD Hyperlink Ltd, a digital branding firm.
With the support of his wife Aswathi and son Aayukh, he is now looking to fund new startups. “Along with my political ambitions, I’m also supporting new startups through seed-funding. Unless we help our youngsters to become self-reliant, our county will never become a developed nation,” he added.