A few months ago, when India, neck-deep in the pandemic, was still figuring out a plan for Unlock 1.0, Tara Krishnaswamy was rallying women to become change-makers. The co-founder of Shakti, a non-partisan citizens collective, was delivering sessions at an online programme called She Represents by Indian School of Democracy, for aspiring female politicians, when a cohort of a dozen young women from Bihar said they-d like to volunteer in the upcoming Assembly elections in their state. This was a huge boost for Shakti, which has been campaigning for equal representation of women in legislation since 2018.

The young women were "trained to understand what it takes to be part of a political campaign, build momentum, and work along with volunteers towards a common goal". They have now become instrumental in spearheading Shakti-s Selfie and Call Campaign, which saw members from the collective along with various grassroot groups from Bihar reach out to elected female members of Bihar panchayats, nyay panchayats and women MLAs to echo the demand for 50 per cent female candidates in the Assembly elections, scheduled for next month.