LJP (Ram Vilas)’s 25-year-old debutant Shambhavi: ‘I want to become voice of Dalit women… like Chirag bhaiyya’s focus on Bihar and Biharis’

Shambhavi, the 25-year-old Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) candidate from the Samastipur Lok Sabha constituency, comes from a political family. She studied sociology at Lady Shri Ram (LSR) College, New Delhi, and Delhi School of Economics (DSE), and appeared for the UPSC exam once. Likely to be pitted against her in Samastipur is Sunny Hazari of the Congress, whose father Maheshwar Hazari is a minister in the Nitish Kumar government, just like her father Ashok Choudhary. Both Hazari and Choudhary are Janata Dal (United) leaders. The daughter-in-law of former IPS officer Kishore Kunal, Shambhavi tells The Indian Express that she believes politics is a field where she can represent other Dalit women like her who do not have the privilege to join politics. Excerpts from the interview:

I come from a family that has been in politics for more than 50 years. My grandfather was an MLA for several terms and my father Ashok Choudhary is a minister in the Bihar government. I went to Notre Dame Academy, Patna, and scored 98% in Class XII. Then I pursued BA (with sociology honours) at LSR in Delhi, after which I completed MA in sociology from DSE. Then I decided to sit for the UPSC exam and took tuitions for it. I couldn’t clear the exam in my first attempt, which happened online during the peak Covid-19 period in October 2020. That’s when I thought of joining politics. I also got married a year ago.

I want to be an agent of change. More than working in an NGO, you can change things as a politician, as you get to represent people.

I am a Dalit woman. Other women from my community may not have the privilege or opportunity to do what I am doing. I want to become the voice of women, particularly Dalit women. It is true that a political