Bihar results: Divya Gautam, Sushant Singh Rajput’s cousin loses in Digha seat by over 59,000 votes

Divya is a candidate of the Communist Party of India (Marxist–Leninist) Liberation (CPI(ML)-L). BJP's Sanjiv Chaurasia has won in the seat by over 59,000 votes.

Divya Gautam, cousin of the late Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput, has lost in Bihar’s Digha seat, while the BJP’s Sanjiv Chaurasia won by 59,079 votes.

Reflecting on her bond with Sushant Singh Rajput, she said they may not have shared political ideologies but were “culturally bound by the same thread.”(PTI)

BJP’s sitting MLA Sanjiv Chaurasia, who is contesting for a third straight term, received a total of 1,11,001 votes, while Gautam received 51,922 votes, according to the Election Commission of India.

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The Bihar Assembly elections were held in two phases on 6 November and 11 November.

Who is Divya Gautam

Gautam, daughter of Bhupendra Kumar Singh, is a former student leader and social activist. A long-time member of the All India Students’ Association (AISA), the student wing of CPI(ML), she first entered politics during her student years, contesting the 2012 Patna University Students’ Union election as an AISA candidate. Although she lost narrowly to ABVP’s Ashish Sinha. The 33-year-old says the experience was transformative, noting that “money, power and negative mobilisation” influenced the outcome.

A journalism and mass communication graduate from Patna College, she also holds a postgraduate degree in the same field. Despite clearing the Bihar Public Service Commission (BPSC) exam in 2021, she declined a government post as a supply inspector. She has since served as an assistant professor at Patna Women’s College between January 2021 and July 2024, according to her Linked profile.

Reflecting on her bond with Sushant Singh Rajput, she said they may not have shared political ideologies but were “culturally bound by the same thread.” The loss of her mother at age 26, she said, strengthened her resolve to fight harder for social justice.

Who is Sanjiv Chaurasia

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has again fielded Sanjiv Chaurasia, 56, son of former Bihar Governor Ganga Prasad, from Digha. A sitting MLA, Chaurasia first won the seat in 2015 and retained it in 2020.

He currently serves as a key BJP face in Patna’s urban belt and has expressed gratitude to party leadership for reposing faith in him. “I thank the central leadership, state leadership and both Deputy CMs, Vinod Tawde and Dharmendra Pradhan… I especially thank the people of Digha,” Chaurasia told news ANI after his nomination.

About Digha constituency

Digha, a high-profile urban constituency in Patna, has been a BJP bastion since its creation. It plays a crucial role in shaping the political sentiment of the capital region, often viewed as a mirror of upper-caste and trader support for the party. With over 4.58 lakh voters, it is the most populous among the 121 constituencies going to the polls in the first phase.

The constituency comprises six panchayats and 21 wards of the Patna Municipal Corporation, including Digha–Mainpura, Patliputra Housing Colony, Badalpura, Sabazpura, Khalilpura, and Nakta Diara Gram Panchayats.