Classical and folk singer Maithili Thakur, who is also a social-media sensation, is the youngest MLA from Bihar
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The battle to dominate the 234 seat-strong Bihar Assembly witnessed many colourful personalities in the fray. From entertainers to bahubalis, the State saw many unconventional candidates in the election mix.
Classical and folk singer Maithili Thakur, who is also a social-media sensation, is the youngest MLA from Bihar. The 25-year old won the Alinagar constituency with a margin of 11,730 votes. Despite being a popular actor and singer working primarily in Bhojpuri cinema, Shatrughan Kumar Yadav, known professionally as Khesari Lal Yadav was trailing in Chapra. The Big Boss contestant could not convert star power into votes. Another Bhojpuri singer and actor, Ritesh Ranjan Pandey, who was fighting the Kargahar seat on Jan Suraaj Party ticket, failed to turn his screen fame into ballot paper victory.
The elections also saw several Bahubali contestants trying their luck. Jailed Janata Dal (United) leader Anant Singh won the Mokama assembly constituency in Bihar’s Patna district by a margin of 28,206 votes. Mokama is infamous for being a stronghold of influential, and often controversial strongmen or bahubalis in Bihar politics, most notably Anant Kumar Singh, his brother Dilip Singh and Surajbhan Singh. However another bahubali candidate, Rit Lal Roy, also known as Ritlal Yadav, with reportedly over 40 criminal cases against him and being incarcerated, could not win the Danapur seat on RJD ticket.
Osama Shahab, son of late gangster-turned-neta Mohd Shahabuddin, won Raghunathpur for RJD with a margin of over 9200 votes. The 31-year old made a succeful poll debut.
The 40-year old Bahujan Samaj Party candidate Sunil Kumar Choudhary is unique, with zero declared assets, and was termed the poorest candidate. However, he could not even come to close to winning the Pirpainti seat, and was a distant sixth in the race. Then there was Pushpam Priya Choudhary, who vowed to keep her face covered until she wins elections in Bihar. The Plural Partys chief, who campaigned wearing only black clothes and mask, could only manage to garner 1,403 seats.
Published on November 14, 2025