Bihar Polls: BJP Banks On Debutant Maithli Thakur To Defeat Binod Mishra
The Alinagar constituency in Bihar’s Darbhanga district is set to witness an electoral battle between generations, with a fresh face in politics seeking to fight against a veteran leader. The 25-year-old BJP candidate and folk singer Maithili Thakur is set to contest against 63-year-old Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) candidate Binod Mishra.
Constituency 81, Alinagar, in Darbhanga district will be going to polls on the first phase of the elections on November 6 along with 120 other constituencies. BJP candidate Maithili Thakur is the youngest candidate and could potentially become the youngest MLA if elected. Jan Suraaj Party candidate Biplaw Kumar Chowdhary is also contesting from the Alinagar seat, with the party itself looking to make a debut in the polls.
Maithili Thakur, belonging to the Brahmin community, currently lives in village Uren, in Madhubani district. RJD’s Mishra, also a Brahmin, lives in village Ghanshyampur in Darbhanga.
The BJP candidate has declared income worth Rs 28,67,350.00 for 2023. Meanwhile, RJD candidate has also declared income of Rs 7,07,010 for assessment year 2025-26.
While BJP banks on a young face and Thakur’s previously established fame as a folk singer, RJD seeks to wrest back the constituency they had lost in 2020.
Mishra had contested the 2020 elections, however he lost to Vikasheel Insaan Party (VIP) leader Mishri Lal Yadav by around 4 thousand votes. The VIP leader had unseated another veteran RJD MLA, Abdul Bari Siddique. Mishri Lal Yadav had switched parties and joined the BJP afterwards. However recently in October, Yadav had quit the BJP, calling it ‘anti-Dalit’.
RJD leader Abdul Siddique has been a two time MLA from Alinagar, winning the 2010 and 2015 polls. He is not contesting the 2025 elections as he is a Member of the Legislative Council (MLC).
Reportedly, the constituents of Alinagar are looking towards a candidate who can get them better infrastructure in the region, including better road connectivity, and better connections.
In the 2010 elections, the RJD candidate had won with a margin of 4.9% of votes, in 2015 the lead was increased to winning by 9.60% margin. However, an upset by VIP unseated the RJD from the seat, with then VIP leader Mishri Lal Yadav winning with a margin of 2% of votes, or 3101 votes.
In the 2020 elections, the Alinagar constituency had a 57.4 voting percentage. The constituency had a total of 275559 electors in 2020. However, following the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise in the state, the constituency has an updated electoral roll.
Polling for the 243-seat Bihar Assembly is scheduled to be held in two phases on November 6 and November 11, with counting set for November 14. (ANI)
