In Bihar’s electoral theatre, Paliganj has emerged as a spotlight constituency. Dr Sandeep Saurav is fighting the election from the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) Liberation ticket. Saurav has done his postgraduate studies from JNU with a PhD in Hindi. He has served as the MLA for Paliganj, a seat historically held by heavyweight names.
His candidacy shows a generational and ideological shift in this Patna-district constituency. He is currently leading by 3633 votes after 6 rounds of counting.
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From scholar to politician
Dr. Sandeep Saurav was born in 1988 in Maner (Patna district), His academic venture marked its route from Patna University and then at Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi, earning M.A., M.Phil and PhD degrees.
He chose politics over a lecturer’s job and delved into student activism, emerging as General Secretary of the JNU Students’ Union in 2013. He contested on a CPI(ML)(Liberation) ticket in the 2020 Bihar Assembly election, defeating the JD(U) candidate by a margin of over 30,000 votes, and secured 44.27 % vote share.
Vision and ground plan in Paliganj
Paliganj is not an ordinary seat. It was a stronghold of socialist figure Ram Lakhan Singh Yadav. Saurav’s campaign appeals directly to young voters, unemployed graduates, agricultural labourers and marginalised castes.
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His campaign brings focus on education, jobs, land rights, and transparency in governance. He does not believe in big-money politics and does not favour politics based on donations from businessmen, and asks for systemic fairness over patronage.
Dr Sandeep Saurav’s journey from academic to activist highlights both the promise and challenges of Bihar’s developing politics. He is an educated candidate looking forward to long-term local transformation, which will define the future of Paliganj’s voters.
