Kaushal Vidyarthee

Kaushal Kishore Vidyarthee is a politician from the Indian National Congress Party. He is a political aide to Rahul Gandhi, Leader of Opposition Lok Sabha and Former Indian National Congress President. A graduate from Oxford University, Kaushal is the youngest entrant & a key backroom boy of the team Rahul Gandhi.https://www.hindustantimes.com/delhi/oxford-scholar-ivy-leaguer-ias-officer-in-team-rahul/story-2KBwusi8xsVcscbuwXtiQP.html He was the official personal secretary of Rahul Gandhi in 2019 and is mostly visible with Rahul Gandhi during the parliament session or travels.
==Early Life & Education==
Kaushal was born and brought up in a small village in Madhepura in Bihar. He studied at Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya, Purnea,http://anvssa.com/word/Timesofindia-news-aboutnavodayas.pdf Bihar; Jawahar Vidya Mandir, Ranchi, Jharkhand and School of Planning and Architecture, Delhi. In 2006 he won the INLAKS scholarship to study MPhil in Development Studies at Oxford Department of International Developmentfrom the Oxford University, UK. He also has a DPhil in Social Policy from Oxford University.https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/archive/comment/uncertain-future-stares-at-team-rahul-799629/ His doctoral dissertation is on caste and capitalism in India.https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:5b339518-762e-4d32-bee1-c76e448febba While studying in Oxford University he was elected as the vice president at Oxford University Student Union. He is an alumnus of Wolfson College, Oxford and Green Templeton College, Oxford.
==Political Career==
Kaushal had initially worked at Rajiv Gandhi Mahila Vikas Pariyojana, a scheme for poverty reduction and women’s empowerment, named after Rahul’s father. He also contributes to the Congress war-room and conveys Rahul's missives to party general secretaries and other senior leaders.. He is considered as a 'rising star' at Rahul Gandhi’s secretariat. He is part of the new-age group which Rahul thought would be able to connect him with the masses.https://www.news18.com/news/politics/all-the-presidents-men-inner-circle-that-stays-in-the-gandhi-shadow-but-calls-the-shots-1605873.html He is incharge of Rahul Gandhi appointments as well as provides research inputs.https://www.business-standard.com/article/politics/the-men-who-matter-in-the-new-team-of-rahul-gandhi-2-0-115051100047_1.html He is a social strategist working on how to include the marginalised section of society in the mainstream economy. His research topics, like incorporation of Dalits in the economy, have caught Rahul's attention. He writes a blog replete with quotes from tech wizards. He was accompanying Rahul Gandhi in the chartered plane which had developed technical snag and was only 20 seconds away from crashing.
==Awards, Honours & Publications==
*NISAU Achievers Award for Government & Politics in 2023
*Nautilus Award for Academic Achievement at Green Templeton College, Oxford in 2012
*GTC DPhil Scholarship by Green Templeton College, Oxford for pursuing DPhil in Social Policy
*OReNGA Research Award in 2007
*Oxford University Fell Fund for project on Outcastes, Tribals and Modern Indian Capitalism (with Barbara Harriss-White, Oxford University; Aseem Prakash, IHD, New Delhi; Deepak Mishra, Jawaharlal Nehru University, India; and Vandana Upadhyay, Rajiv Gandhi University, Itanagar, Arunachal Pradesh during 2006-08https://www.barbarahw.in/awards
*INLAKS scholarship to pursue studies in Oxford University in 2006https://inlaksfoundation.org/community-database/?inlaks_cohorts_year_desc%5Bpage%5D=49
*Co-author of ‘Dalits and Adivasis in India's Business Economy:Three Essays and an Atlas' with Prof. Barbara Harriss-White ISBN:9788188789863
Category:Indian politicians
Category:People from Bihar
Category:Indian National Congress politicians
Category:1985 births
Category:Alumni of Wolfson College, Oxford
Category:Green Templeton College, Oxford