Gautam (third from left) during a protest in Bihpur
Gautam Kumar Pritam is a social activist who is Socialist Party (India)’s candidate for the 2020 Bihar assembly elections from the Bihpur constituency in Bhagalpur. Gautam has been involved in social and political movements in the Bihpur area for many years now. He has been a strong advocate for the rights of farmers, farm labourers, students and women.
Gautam was a key figure in the recent protests to improve the economic condition of the maize farmers of Bihpur who despite producing some of the best quality maize in the country, live in poverty and debt.
He also participated in the nation-wide protests against the Supreme Court’s order diluting the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 which took place on 2 April 2018. Even though the protest was completely peaceful, he was arrested and jailed for 54 days before finally obtaining bail from the High Court.
Gautam took part in a hunger strike for the Bihpur constituency – which consists of the Bihpur, Narayanpur and Kharik blocks – to be given the status of a subdivision so that the administration of the area can be improved. As a result of this protest a separate Deputy Superintendent of Police post was instituted for the three blocks.
He was also instrumental in the Covid-19 lockdown relief work carried out by the SP(I) and its students’ wing Socialist Yuvjan Sabha in Bihar, through which more than 1600 families were provided with food grains and other necessities.
Gautam identifies the poor quality of education and the high level of unemployment in Bihar as major concerns which need to be urgently addressed. He believes that a common public school system is the only way to ensure all children’s access to high quality primary and secondary education. He would like to see the establishment of agriculture-based industries in Bihpur to provide employment to the local people and improve the economic condition of the farmers. He is also an advocate of extensive land reform in the state and has called for the 2011 caste census data to be made public so that it can guide government policy.
Please support Gautam by donating to his election campaign using the bank accout details given below:
Bank Account Details:
Name: Gautam Kumar Pritam
Bank: State Bank of India
Branch: JHANDAPUR, BIHPUR
A/c no.: 11725784955
IFSC: SBIN0005769
Mobile No.: 9162064070
To know more about Gautam please see the following:
- Video of interview with Kosi-Nirman Manch leader Mahendra Yadav:
- English and Hindi transcripts of interview:
- A brief article on Gautam’s campaign:
