Sushant Singh Rajput's Cousin, Bihar Poll Candidate, Breaks Down Remembering Him

Late Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput's cousin and Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) Liberation's Divya Gautam, who is the Opposition's candidate from Bihar's Digha for next month's assembly elections, on Tuesday said that she has "never used his name in her politics".

Speaking to NDTV a day after her name was announced, Gautam, a theatre artist and former All India Students' Association (AISA) leader, said she is "grateful" that people recognise her with Rajput's name.

"I am a theatre artist. I do a play on his birthday every year. But I don't want to use his name in my politics," she said as she broke down while remembering the actor, who was found hanging from the ceiling of his apartment in Mumbai in June 2020.

"I don't want to colour his name the way other political parties want to do," Gautam said, adding that she didn't use Rajput's popularity when she was contesting the students' union election.

"I cannot say that I am not the cousin of Sushant Singh Rajput. People recognise me with his name. I am grateful for that," she said.

She said that Rajput was known because of his hard work and not nepotism.

"That is how I am also working," said Gautam, a former assistant professor at Patna College who has also served as a supply inspector at the food and consumer protection department of the Bihar government.

She also said that he taught them how to live their lives for their passion.

Speaking about the upcoming Bihar elections, she denied that there were rifts in the opposition alliance.

"Everything was well" in 'Mahagathbandhan', she said.

"You will hopefully get the final list of candidates by this evening," she said.

Attacking her opponent, she said the Digha constituency, which is currently held by BJP's two-time MLA Sanjeev Chaurasiya, has a lot of problems, including waterlogging, lack of street lights and traffic jams.

"There is anger among the public. They want a change, and I am here for the change," she said.

Asked if the corruption charges against her ally and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) patriarch Lalu Prasad Yadav and his son Tejashwi Yadav could impact Bihar polls, she said she "doesn't think so".

The two-phase assembly elections in Bihar will be held on November 6 and 11.