Oxford, LSU ex-students fail to win votes in Bihar

PATNA: The educational qualification of candidates seems to have made as little difference this election as it has in previous polls. Several highly educated but little-known candidates tasted defeat this time, making it evident that electors place their faith in familiar faces or vote along caste lines.
Pushpam Priya Chaudhary, alumna of the London School of Economics and daughter of JD(U) functionary Binod Chaudhary, who floated her own party ‘The Plurals Party’ on International Women’s Day, received only 5,189 votes from Bankipur in Patna and 1,521 votes from Bisfi in Madhubani.
An official of the party said voters were unable to think beyond caste politics. “All our candidates are educated. However, it will take time for people to accept change. Our party will work at the grassroots to connect with the people. We will prepare ourselves for the next assembly elections,” the official said.
Manish Barriar, an alumnus of Oxford University who also contested the elections from Bankipur as an Independent, received even fewer votes than Chaudhury — 207 votes or only 0.15% of the total votes cast in the assembly segment. Both candidates had promised to improve the education system in the state and promote industrialisation.
Nikhil Mandal, the grandson of BP Mandal, who contested the election for the first time from Madhepura on a JD(U) ticket, lost to Chandra Shekhar of RJD by a margin of 15,072 votes. Nikhil, who has a master’s degree in law from The Open Global University, Nagaland, has worked in the corporate sector and has also served as a financial adviser with IDBI. He practised in the Patna high court, before joining JD(U) as a spokesperson.
Rajeev Kumar, convener of Bihar Election Watch, told TOI that lack of expectation from candidates and widespread ignorance among voters were the main reasons for people not being able to judge candidates on their educational qualification or the merit of their policies.
“Caste is another important issue in Bihar elections. People want to vote for candidates who belong to their caste, irrespective of their background,” he said.
Shaibal Gupta, a social scientist and founding member-secretary of Asian Development Research Institute in Patna, said all candidates have to spend time in Bihar and work at the grassroots in order to succeed. “Such intellectuals have to give time to the people to accept them,” he said.