Priti Kinnar, a transgender social worker who is set to take on Bihar's Education Minister and sitting JD(U) MLA Sunil Kumar in Bhorey assembly seat in Gopalganj district on a Jan Suraaj ticket, said she has responded to people's call to enter politics and exuded confidence that the masses would ensure her win.

Her victory may be historic as the only transgender MLA in the country was Shabnam Bano, who represented Sohagpur assembly constituency in Madhya Pradesh from 1998 to 2003.

A resident of Kalyanpur village, Priti is a social worker who is actively engaged with people on the ground.

According to media reports, she is often seen helping the poor and participating in cultural programmes such as Durga Puja and Chhath Puja, as well as sports events and competitions including cricket and football.

Recognising her strong grassroots connect in Bihar, JSP chief Prashant Kishor has trusted Priti to offer a tough contest to her opponents.

Priti has also helped about 27 underprivileged girls get married and has studied up to Class 8. Her main sources of income are reportedly animal husbandry and Badhai gana (traditional singing), per reports.

Speaking to PTI, Priti said, "I have been deeply engaged in social work in the region for more than two decades, and now, on people's call, I have entered politics." Highlighting some of the work done by her in the region, she said, "I ensure the marriages of dozens of poor girls each year. I also help people affected by distress or disasters." Noting that there are few transgender voters in the constituency, she asserted she has a wider support base in society due to her social work.

Priti said she was preparing to contest the polls as an Independent candidate but she saw "her goals and ideas align with Prashant Kishor's Jan Suraaj", and so she decided to join the party.

"I am grateful to Prashant ji for trusting me with this responsibility," she added.

Priti believes her fighting the election from Bhorey "will boost the morale of the transgender community".

Enumerating the pressing problems of the constituency, she said, "The roads are in pitiable condition, and health and education facilities lie in tatters." The Jan Suraaj candidate asserted that solutions to these problems align with the major promises made by her party, in the sectors of education, health, employment and out-migration control.

"If I am voted to power, I will ensure the establishment of a college in the constituency. To help the poor, I will facilitate ambulance services in each panchayat, so that they don't have to engage in fatal waiting. I will also ensure the construction of public toilets for women, as they face a lot of problems in relieving themselves when they are in public places."

Regarding her campaign strategy, Priti said, "I will stick to my method of going from door to door and meeting people across villages. That is what I have been doing for the last four years. People have trust in me. They are in a mood for a positive change this time around." Talking about the prospects of Jan Suraaj, she said that nothing happens in a single go, but Jan Suraaj has definitely become the talk of the town in a very short span of time.

"Just like I got a chance to enter politics, I will convince others interested from the transgender community to step into politics. Political representation is one good way of socio-economic upliftment," she added.

Her candidature has evoked mixed response among the people.

Varun Rai, a working journalist from Bhorey who lives in Patna, said, "There will hardly be any impact (of Priti Kinnar's contest). If at all, it will only benefit the JD(U), as anti-incumbency votes will be diverted from CPI(ML) Liberation, the runner-up party of 2020 assembly elections from the seat, whose candidate trailed by a mere 462 votes." Bhorey has traditionally been a stronghold of the BJP and JD(U), he said.

Atul Upadhyay, a Primary Agricultural Credit Society (PACS) member in the region, expressed starkly contrasting views.

"Priti Kinnar has given time and effort to the people of Bhorey over the past 3-4 years. She assists poor girls in their marriages. Whenever there is outbreak of fire or other mishap, she is mostly present there with financial assistance," he said.

"Sunil Kumar, the sitting MLA, in contrast, lives far away from the constituency, in Patna," he added.

Upadhyay admits that Kumar has done some work in the past five years, but "Priti has been closer to people".