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Bihar election: Barring one candidate, star power fails to win over voters
In Bihar Assembly polls, only singer Maithili Thakur won, while celebrity candidates like Khesari Yadav and Ritesh Pandey lost despite their popularity.
PATNA: The Bihar Assembly polls brought a surprising setback for celebrity candidates and Bhojpuri cinema’s biggest names, with only singer Maithili Thakur, contesting from Alinagar on a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ticket, winning by a margin of 11,730 votes.
Others, including actor-singer Khesari Lal Yadav, who contested from Chapra, singer Ritesh Pandey, who contested from Kargahar, and Jyoti Singh, wife of Pawan Singh, who contested from Karakat, lost in their respective constituencies—they failed to convert their popularity into votes.
Maithili Thakur secured 84,915 votes after the conclusion of 25 rounds of counting and defeated Rashtriya Janata Dal’s (RJD’s) Binod Mishra, who secured 73,185 votes, according to the Election Commission of India’s website. The seat was won by Abdul Bari Siddiqui (RJD) in 2010 and 2015, while Mishri Lal Yadav (VIP) clinched it in 2020.
RJD’s Shatrughan Yadav, popularly known as Khesari Yadav, lost in the Chapra seat, securing 79,245 votes after 30 rounds of counting, according to the ECI. BJP’s Chhoti Kumari secured 86,845 votes, while independent candidate Rakhi Gupta trailed far behind, with 11,488 votes.
Yadav’s campaign comprised loud slogans, strong crowd support, and a belief that his stardom would translate into political success. But when counting began, he quickly fell behind.
Also Read | Full list of Bihar election winners by constituency from BJP, JDU, RJD
In Karakat, Bhojpuri singer and actor Pawan Singh decided not to contest and instead fielded his wife, Jyoti Singh. Hoping for a strong debut performance, she ended up third, securing 23,469 votes. The poll battle here saw a close contest between the CPI(ML)’s Arun Singh, who won by 2,836 votes against JD(U)’s Mahabali Singh.
A similar picture emerged in the Kargahar Assembly seat, where singer Ritesh Ranjan—popularly known as Ritesh Pandey—contested on a Jan Suraj Party ticket, but secured only 16,298 votes. Despite his popularity as a Bhojpuri artist, the numbers did not favour him. He ranked fourth, as JD (U) nominee Bashisth Singh won the seat by a margin of 35,676 votes.
Musician and singer Vinay Bihari, a BJP candidate from Lauriya constituency, won for the fourth time on the BJP ticket. In 2010, he was elected as an independent candidate and later joined the BJP.
