Bihar polls: Pushpam Priya Choudhary, the LSE graduate who is eyeing CM's chair

A London School of Economics alumnus, Pushpam Priya Choudhary, however, is not a complete outsider to Bihar politics

With the political battle heating up in Bihar, Chief Minister and JD (U) president Nitish Kumar, RJD scion Tejashwi Yadav and LJP's Chirag Paswan have been joined by a new competitor in the race to become the next chief minister.

The latest entrant, Pushpam Priya Choudhary, a London-based candidate, had announced her political outfit Plurals Party's 'arrival', along with her being a 'CM Candidate 2020, Bihar' as stated on her official Twitter handle, on March 8.

With the tagline 'Everyone Governs', the Plurals Party, under Choudhary's leadership, will be contesting all 243 seats in the upcoming Bihar assembly election. Choudhary herself would be contesting from Bisfi in Madhubani district.

A London School of Economics alumnus, Choudhary, however, is not a complete outsider to Bihar politics and has a political link through her father, Vinod Choudhary, a former MLC of the Janata Dal (United).

The official website of the party, "www.pushpampc.com" shows her educational background as an "MA in Development Studies from Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex, UK" and also, "Master of Public Administration, from London School of Economics and Political Science, UK".

The website describes the Plurals as, "not just a political party, but a political revolution, which is based on the idea that every life is valuable and deserves to be treated as an end in itself and not merely as means to an end. Diversity is our strength and progress is possible only when everyone governs." The party has its own manifesto as well, among other things.

Born and brought up in Bihar's Darbhanga, Choudhary has her work cut out for her in terms of campaigning against the political bigwigs and their legacies and heavyweights campaigning on the other side. The Plurals Party president has been on a campaigning spree across the state with a robust social media presence.

What is on the Plurals Party's agenda?

In a recent tweet, Choudhary listed out her party's plan for Bihar's 'total transformation'.

Educational institutions, schemes for farmers, push for startups, flood-related schemes, schemes for the poor, healthcare, employment, women's safety -- the plan covers and promises a whole host of things.

As per the document, the party plans to set up eight development zones -- Patliputra, Ang, Magadh, Champaran, Mithila, Kaushiki, Kaimur, and Vaishali -- and has schemes planned accordingly.

The party also plans to lift the ban on alcohol and put an end to the VIP privileges in the state.

Choudhary has promised to create 8 lakh government and 80 lakh private-sector jobs by 2025 and set the minimum wage and pension at Rs 26,000 and Rs 2,600 respectively.

A quick look at some of the party's poll promises:

For women's safety:

CCTVs to be installed across cities, villages, public transports and other places.

Education:

State of the art learning centers, common school system, state employee status for teachers. Interestingly, it also states that kids of all the ministers and officers would be enrolled in government schools.

For the poor:

Employment for the women members of the family, a 3-room house equipped with electricity, water and a toilet, along with Rs 2,600 pension for the elders in the house. Introduction of the Goldern Card -- free ration, free medical treatment, free medicines and free education for 5 years.

For the flood situation

Interlinking of Ganga, Son, Kosi, Mahananda, Bagmati, Kamla and Falgu rivers. Drylands and flood-prone areas to be linked along with interlinking of related departments.

For farmers:

Loans for farmers, mechanisation of farming and 'Maximum Sale Price' instead of 'Minimum Support Price'

Armed with a set of tall promises and ideals, Pushpam Priya Choudhary in her debut looks to 'open Bihar' and end the '30-year lockdown', as mentioned in one of her tweets.