Global & grounded: Educated 1st-time MLAs to bring fresh energy to Bihar House

Why three young MLAs in the new Bihar Assembly are likely to change image of legislators and politicians in general

Bihar’s 2025 assembly elections have not just redrawn the political map of the state with the NDA’s emphatic victory; they have also ushered in a small but significant cohort of highly educated, professionally accomplished first-time MLAs who promise to inject fresh ideas into the legislative process. Among them, Janata Dal (United) debutants Manjarik Mrinal, Samriddh Varma and Komal Singh stand out — not only for their academic credentials and global exposure but also for their determination to pair this expertise with grassroots politics.

Manjarik Mrinal, JD(U) candidate who has won the Warisnagar assembly seat, Bihar, India,(Santosh Kumar/HT Photo)

Education of new Bihar MLAs

These young leaders are set to take their oaths soon, joining a 243-member House where educational backgrounds span a wide spectrum. According to affidavits analysed by the ADR, 84 winning candidates this time—slightly higher than 82 in 2020—have academic qualifications between Class 5 and Class 12, while seven are only literate, compared to nine in the previous assembly. At the other end of the spectrum, Mrinal stands out among just 20 MLAs holding doctorates, down from 22 in 2020, while Komal is part of a cohort of 48 postgraduates elected this year, a notable rise from 34 in the last House.

Their arrival speaks directly to a growing aspiration among Bihar’s electorate — the hope that better-educated lawmakers can help modernise governance, improve legislative debate, and influence policy in sectors ranging from technology and agriculture to industry and finance.

At 35, Warisnagar MLA Manjarik Mrinal brings with him a formidable academic and professional resume. Son of four-time MLA Ashok Kumar, he completed his B.Tech from Acharya Institute of Technology, Bengaluru, before moving to the United States for higher studies.

Between 2014 and 2021, Mrinal earned both his Master’s and PhD in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Texas, specialising in additive manufacturing. He taught as an adjunct professor and later worked as a post-doctoral research engineer at Hewlett-Packard’s advanced research labs, focusing on 3D-printed electronics and process development.

Returning to India in 2024, he joined the Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru, leading a MeitY-backed project to build India’s first lithographic machine for indigenous chip manufacturing — a breakthrough effort toward technological self-reliance.

“Having worked with the best engineers in the world, I wanted to be involved in policy making. This prompted me to make the significant shift from technology to politics,” said Mrinal.

“My wife Mugdha Chaudhari, also a mechanical engineer, who I met while pursuing my masters programme in Texas, is from Maharashtra and an automation manager at Walmart, US,” he added.

Mrinal’s victory margin — 34,436 votes over CPI(ML)’s Phoolbabu Singh — underscores voter confidence in a candidate they see as both rooted and forward-looking. His immersion in cutting-edge research suggests he could be a valuable asset for Bihar as it explores industries linked to manufacturing, electronics, and innovation-driven development.

Samriddh Varma, 37, enters the House from Sikta in West Champaran, where he defeated Independent candidate Khurshid Firoz Ahmad by a resounding 47,144 votes. A commerce graduate from Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies (NMIMS), Mumbai, Varma went on to complete an 18-month certification in international trade and commerce from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), followed by a short-term leadership and sustainability programme from the University of Cambridge.

But behind the cosmopolitan résumé lies a deeply local instinct. During the Covid pandemic, Varma returned to Bihar to stay with his parents — former five-time MLA Dilip Varma and homemaker Rita Varma. He soon plunged into farming, setting up advanced guava, lemon and mango orchards across 22 acres, equipped with drip irrigation and modern agricultural practices.

Having studied from the Scindia School in Gwalior, before completing his graduation in commerce in 2010 from the Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies in Mumbai, his professional stint as a Communications Manager with Tata Power gives him additional corporate grounding. Varma’s election signals the growing appetite for leaders who combine global exposure with a commitment to rural development. His hands-on farming experience makes him well placed to push for reforms in agri-technology, irrigation, rural entrepreneurship and market linkages.

“I always wanted to come back to my roots. I came to my village ‘DK (Deewanji ka)’ Shikarpur, and set up an orchard of guava, lemons and mango over 22 acres of land, using modern technology like drip irrigation system. Besides social service, I was into full-time farming, before I decided to take to politics” said Varma.

At 30, Komal Singh represents one of the youngest faces in the new House — and among the few women with significant professional exposure. Contesting her second election from Gaighat, she secured a comfortable win over the RJD’s Niranjan Roy by 23,417 votes.

An alumnus of Hope Town Girls School, Dehradun, and DPS RK Puram, New Delhi, Komal graduated in Economics from Delhi University before completing her MBA from Symbiosis University, Pune in 2017. She rose quickly in the private sector, serving as Head Underwriter at Tata AIG, leading operations across north and east India.

Komal hails from an influential political family — father Dinesh Prasad Singh is a four-time JD(U) MLC, and her mother Veena Devi is a two-time MP who once represented Gaighat in the assembly. But unlike many peers, she firmly chose to keep her education and early career within India despite her brother Shubham Singh’s London degree and her husband Kunal Singh’s Stanford background.

“I never wanted to study abroad. I always wanted to come back home to Bihar and do social work and help my parents in politics, which I am happy to do,” said Komal.

Young, articulate and grounded in economics and corporate systems, Komal brings an understanding of financial processes, risk management and administrative functioning that could strengthen legislative scrutiny and constituency planning.

“With degrees from top global institutions and experience in technology, finance, agribusiness and administration, these MLAs may contribute meaningfully to legislative committees seeking evidence-based policymaking,” said Prof Gyanendra Yadav, a political observer and faculty member of sociology at Patna’s College of Commerce, Arts and Science.

“They bring domain expertise rarely seen in Bihar’s political arena — from semiconductor fabrication to sustainability and insurance analytics — enabling richer, more informed debates in the House. Their exposure to global systems may lead to more advocacy around digital governance, renewable energy, manufacturing clusters, agricultural modernisation and skill development,” he added.

All three represent a younger generation of leaders who have chosen public service over careers abroad or in the private sector, signalling a shift in the political aspirations of Bihar’s youth, said Yadav.