Youngest candidate in Bihar Assembly elections banks on culture, youth issues

Playback singer Maithili Thakur, trained in Indian classical and devotional music, turned 25 on July 25 this year. Three months later, she is in a different field altogether as she contests the upcoming Assembly elections from Alinagar constituency in Darbhanga district as a surprise Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) nominee.

Ms. Thakur, the youngest among the candidates in the Bihar elections this time, hails from Benipatti in neighbouring Madhubani district, about 35 km from the Mithilanchal region in north Bihar.

“Even on my birthday this year, I had no inkling of contesting the poll. It was in August when I got a call from senior State BJP leader and Union Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai ji to come to Patna, where I met the party’s Bihar incharge Vinod Tawde ji. Again, I came to Delhi and six days later, I got a call to come to Patna where I was told to contest the poll from Alinagar... meanwhile, the State BJP leaders kept telling me that I may be the party contender,” Ms. Thakur told The Hindu at her maternal grandfather’s house in Shankarpur under Adhaloaam panchayat of Alinagar constituency.

“In between meeting senior BJP leaders in Patna and getting the party ticket, I was heavily trolled on social media for saying something inadvertently to media persons, which was really a nightmare for me,” she added, as she prepared to head out for campaigning.

Wearing a green silk suit with a neatly wrapped dupatta, she attended to visitors in the courtyard of the modest house. One of her younger brothers, Rishav Thakur, who plays the tabla, was seen assisting with the campaign arrangements, while the youngest, Ayachi Thakur, was not present at the time. Their maternal uncles, Nand Kishore Jha and Sumit Jha, were also coordinating logistics.

Her father, Ramesh Kumar Thakur, sat quietly nearby. “What would I do? This is the first time we’re experiencing such things in life… altogether, I’ve been a musical artiste and taught my children only this… I am still struggling in life,” he said. He recalled leaving Benipatti in 1995 to teach music in Delhi. “When Maithili was born in 2000 and her brothers came, I decided to bring them up in music instead of focusing on regular studies. And see where they have come now,” he said, smiling. “Everything is fixed from up above,” he added.

When asked about her priorities as an MLA and why she chose the BJP, Ms. Thakur said, “Since several top BJP leaders have earlier invited me to sing folk and devotional songs in the party’s cultural events, I used to know them personally and when they offered me the party ticket, I couldn’t resist.”

“To introduce Mithila painting as extra-curricular activities in schools and also do something better for education, especially for girl children, and employment for jobless youths would be my priorities once I become an MLA,” she said, thanking Prime Minister Narendra Modi for “considering her to become a party contestant”. “He is my idol politician for his vision and everything… I’m impressed with him,” she added.

Ms. Thakur has been fielded from Alinagar after the BJP denied a ticket to sitting MLA Mishri Lal Yadav, who resigned from the party on October 11. Mr. Yadav had won the seat in 2020 on a Vikassheel Insaan Party ticket and later joined the BJP. In May 2025, he was sentenced to two years’ imprisonment in a 2019 criminal case by the MP-MLA court in Darbhanga, before securing bail from the Patna High Court.

In 2010 and 2015, RJD leader Abdul Bari Siddiqui had won from Alinagar. Ms. Thakur now faces RJD candidate Binod Mishra.

Alinagar is an upper caste Brahmin-dominated constituency, with a sizeable population of Muslims, Yadavs, and Extremely Backward Classes such as Mallahs and Paswans. “We’re getting support from every caste and class… People recognise Maithili’s face as she has been brand ambassador of several products… there is no contest here, we’ll win the election,” Maithili’s maternal uncle Mr. Nand Kishore Jha said.

Other young candidates in the Bihar elections include Janata Dal (United)’s Ravina Kushwaha (27) from Bibhutipur, RJD’s Shiwani Shukla (28) from Lalganj, Deepu Singh (28) from Sandesh, and Ravi Ranjan (29) from Ashthawan. At the other end of the spectrum are veteran candidates such as JD(U)’s Harinarayan Singh (78) from Harnaut, and RJD’s Awadh Bihari Choudhary (78), from Siwan. The average age of candidates in the two-phased Bihar elections is said to be around 51 years.

Alinagar will vote in the first phase on November 6, and results will be declared on November 14. “Please don’t forget to call once the results will be out,” Mr. Ramesh Thakur said.