VOICES FROM THE MARGINS

Some are political veterans, others relative newcomers. Together, they will represent the new face of their community in Parliament

- Amitabh Srivastava, Prashant Srivastava, Ajay Sukumaran and Avishek G. Dastidar

MANOJ KUMAR, 41

CONGRESS | Sasaram (SC), Bihar

THE DEBUTANTS DALITS

A casual labourer's son come to reside in Babu Jagjivan Ram's long-time abode-that was a virtuous turn for the Grand Old Party. The seat had been with the BJP for a decade-under Chhedi Paswan, who'd first succeeded Jagjivan in 1989. And two defeats, in 2014 and 2019, had pushed his legatee Meira Kumar into retirement. Having opted to field her Cambridge PhD son Anshul Avijit from Patna Sahib, the Congress needed a new face for hilly, backward Sasaram. In came Manoj, with only a failed 2019 bid on his resume, but the times on his side.

He recalls how his father would string him along while seeking an Indira Awas grant. "He thought the officials would take pity on me. They didn't." He has an awas now, the lower house of Parliament..

CHANDRASHEKHAR AZAD, 37 | AZAD SAMAJ PARTY (KANSHIRAM) | Nagina (SC), UP