THUNDER IN THE EAST

The BJP and regional parties are waging bitter battles in eastern India. The future of three longest-serving chief ministers of India is also at stake

- PRATUL SHARMA

Shambhavi Chaudhary may well be a subject for her own doctoral research— the intersection of caste and gender in Bihar politics. As the youngest candidate in the 2024 elections, the 25-year-old gets to pursue her “dream” of entering the Lok Sabha, something her father and grandfather failed to realise as they both had lost the parliamentary elections they fought. Shambhavi, who is contesting from the Samastipur constituency on the Lok Janshakti Party ticket for the National Democratic Alliance, attracted nationwide attention when Prime Minister Narendra Modi showered praise on her, calling her the “youngest dalit, woman candidate” in the country.

Shambhavi comes from a privileged background. Her father, Ashok Chaudhary, is a Janata Dal (United) leader and minister in the Nitish Kumar cabinet. Her grandfather Mahavir Chaudhary was a Congress minister in the state. She studied at Lady Shri Ram College in Delhi and Delhi School of Economics and is married to the son of a retired IPS officer, Kunal Kishore. Kishore was known for pushing for dalit priests in temples, although he was from an upper caste family. The story gets curiouser as Shambhavi’s main challenger is Sunny Hazari of the Congress, also a third generation politician. His father, Maheshwar Hazari, too, is from the JD(U) and serves as a minister in the Nitish Kumar government. And father and grandfather were in the Lok Sabha.