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Who is Divya Gautam? Sushant Singh Rajput's cousin in fray for Bihar polls as Left candidate from Digha
A political activist, 34-year-old Divya Gautam filed her nomination from the Digha assembly constituency in the Patna district
Late actor Sushant Singh Rajput's cousin Divya Gautam is set to contest the Bihar assembly elections as a Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist)-Liberation CPI(ML)-L candidate.
Gautam, 34, filed her nomination from the Digha assembly constituency in the Patna district on Wednesday. The seat has been held by BJP's Sanjeev Chaurasiya since 2015.
The announcement was made as the Left party announced a list of 18 candidates on Tuesday. However, it is a part of the opposition Mahaghathbandhan led by the RJD and Congress, which is yet to finalise the seat-sharing agreement, PTI reported.
Also Read: 'Talks ongoing', says Congress as focus shifts on Bihar Mahagathbandhan's seat-sharing plan
The last date for filing nominations for the first phase of polling on 121 seats is October 17. While speaking on her nomination without a seat-sharing arrangement, Divya Gautam said, "Please ask my leaders about the seat-sharing. My party asked me to file a nomination from Digha, and I did."
Who is Divya Gautam?
Divya Gautam, a cousin of late Bollywood star Sushant Singh Rajput, is a former leader of the All India Students' Association (AISA). She has been involved in social service work for and has been associated with AISA, the student wing of CPI-ML, for a long time.
Speaking of her associations with Sushant Singh Rajput, the CPI (ML) leader said she may not have particular ideological similarities with the Bollywood actor but culturally they were bound by the same thread.
Also Read: Sushant Singh Rajput’s cousin Divya Gautam is CPI-ML candidate for Patna’s Digha
She entered politics during her student days when she contested the 2012 Patna University Students’ Union election as an AISA candidate. However, she lost narrowly to ABVP’s Ashish Sinha. “That election changed me as a person,” she told Hindustan Times, adding that “money, power and negative mobilisation” tilted the result.
Divya Gautam holds a bachelor's degree in journalism and mass communication from Patna College. She also has a postgraduate degree in the same subject.
Though she cracked the Bihar Public Service Commission examination in 2021, she declined to join government service as a supply inspector. She has also served as an assistant professor at Patna Women's College between January 2021 and July 2024, according to her LinkedIn profile.
