Bihar Election 2025: Jan Suraaj Fields Transgender Social Worker Preeti Kinnar from Bhore Assembly Seat in Bihar

Key Points:

The Bhore Assembly constituency in Gopalganj district is emerging as one of the most closely watched seats in the upcoming Bihar Assembly elections. Reserved for Scheduled Castes, Bhore has long been a stronghold of traditional political faces. But this time, the contest has taken a new turn with the Jan Suraaj Party fielding Preeti Kinnar, a transgender social worker, as its candidate — a move that has drawn both attention and controversy.

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The Bhore Constituency

Bhore, located in southern Gopalganj, has a mixed voter base of Dalits, Extremely Backward Classes (EBCs), and minorities. The constituency has seen tough contests in the past, with narrow victory margins. In the 2020 Assembly elections, JDU’s Sunil Kumar, who also serves as Bihar’s Education Minister, defeated CPI (ML)’s Jitendra Paswan by just 462 votes — one of the slimmest margins in the state.

The tight race reflects how volatile and unpredictable Bhore’s political mood can be. This time, the entry of the Jan Suraaj Party, led by political strategist-turned-politician Prashant Kishor, has added a new dimension. Kishor’s party has positioned itself as an alternative to Bihar’s mainstream players — JDU, RJD, and BJP — by focusing on grassroots leaders and social workers instead of established politicians.

On October 9, 2025, Prashant Kishor released Jan Suraaj’s first list of 51 candidates. Among doctors, lawyers, retired bureaucrats, and community leaders, one name stood out — Preeti Kinnar. Her nomination from Bhore symbolized Kishor’s promise of giving space to people from underrepresented and marginalized groups.

Who is Preeti Kinnar?

Preeti is from Khap village of Sonbarsa block in Sitamarhi district. Aged 41, she has been living in Kalyanpur village of Bhore block for the past 22 years. A matriculate by education, she earns her living through singing devotional songs and animal rearing. But what defines her most is her long-standing commitment to social service.

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Since 2008, Preeti has been actively working for the poor, especially women and girls. She has arranged marriages for over 27 underprivileged couples and provided food and essentials to hundreds of families during the COVID-19 lockdown. During natural calamities and accidents, she has often stepped in with relief materials, using her personal funds and community donations.

Preeti’s nomination has not come without controversy. Jan Suraaj leader Vijay Aman has accused her of falsely claiming Dalit status to contest from the reserved constituency. He alleges that Preeti belongs to an upper-caste family and that her Scheduled Caste certificate was obtained fraudulently. Some of Preeti Kinnar's caste is listed as Paswan on some documents, while official records like land registries list her father’s name as Harischandra Srivastava. This is why questions are being raised about her caste.

Preeti has strongly denied these allegations. According to Jan Suraaj officials, a party team had visited her village in Sitamarhi and found no grounds to doubt her caste identity.

Despite the controversy, Preeti’s candidacy has been welcomed by many locals. People believe that this could be a good strategy by Jan Suraaj to showcase its inclusive image. There are only 13 transgender voters in Bhore and 67 in the entire district, but the symbolic importance of her nomination goes beyond numbers. The representation of the third-gender community in politics is still very low. For Jan Suraaj, the move signals its commitment to a politics of inclusion. For Preeti, it’s a chance to transform years of grassroots work into legislative action. [Rh]

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