The 2025 Bihar Assembly elections ended in a sweeping victory for the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), which won 202 out of the state’s 243 seats. One of the most closely watched contests was in Alinagar,
where the 25-year-old folk singer Maithili Thakur, made history by becoming Bihar’s youngest MLA.
Thakur dominated the poll battlefield in her electoral debut and won 84,915 votes on a BJP ticket, defeating her nearest rival by 11,730 votes. She became one of the few celebrity candidates to convert popularity into electoral success. Thakur, who is popular in Bihar for her singing talent and her humble nature, has come a long way from being rejected from singing reality shows.
Who Is Maithili Thakur?
Born on July 25, 2000, in Bihar’s Madhubani, Maithili Thakur developed an early taste in music thanks to her family. Her father, Ramesh Thakur, is a classical vocalist who trained her from a young age, and her mother, Pooja, managed the house. Her brothers, Ayachi and Rishabh, are also talented folk singers. She performed in Maithili, Bhojpuri and Hindi.
After being rejected by several reality shows, including Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Li’l Champs and Indian Idol Junior, Thakur rose to fame as the first runner-up on Rising Star in 2017. Although she could not win the competition, her devotional songs won praise.
After her stint in Rising Star, Thakur decided to focus on classical, folk and devotional songs and posted videos on social media, which soon became widely popular. She was recognised for her contribution to Bihar’s folk and devotional music and was appointed State Icon of Bihar by the Election Commission.
In 2021, she received the Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar from the Sangeet Natak Akademi for her work in preserving traditional Maithili and Bhojpuri music.
A Smashing Political Debut
As she was widely popular for her classical and devotional songs, Maithili Thakur decided to join the BJP in October, with one month to go to the Assembly elections. Thakur had earlier expressed her desire to enter politics and contest from her home constituency.
“I have always been connected to the people of Bihar through music and culture. Now I wish to serve them through public life,” she said after joining the BJP. She faced RJD’s Binod Mishra in the Alinagar constituency in Darbhanga district in the first phase of the Bihar elections on November 6.
Thakur’s victory was significant as the seat was an RJD stronghold until the previous election. In 2020, Vikassheel Insaan Party’s (VIP) Mishri Lal Yadav won a narrow contest, but he later joined the BJP, only to be denied a ticket this year. The BJP’s gamble to convert cultural influence into political gains worked.
