BJP’s Second Bihar List Out: Folk Singer Maithili Thakur To Contest From Alinagar, Ex-IPS Anand Mishra From Buxar
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Wednesday released its second list of candidates for the Bihar Assembly elections, naming 12 more contenders and setting the stage for a high-profile debut by acclaimed folk singer Maithili Thakur from Alinagar in Darbhanga. Thakur’s nomination, widely anticipated after she joined the party in Patna a day earlier in the presence of state chief Dilip Jaiswal, places her in a seat currently represented by BJP’s Mishrilal Yadav and signals the party’s push to leverage cultural appeal in core Mithila turf.In another notable pick, former IPS officer Anand Mishra has been fielded from Buxar.
Mishra, who recently switched from Prashant Kishor’s Jan Suraaj to the BJP, adds an administrative sheen to the saffron slate in a constituency with a history of keen contests. The list also includes Ranjan Kumar from Muzaffarpur—replacing sitting MLA Suresh Sharma—Ram Chandra Prasad from Hayaghat, Subhash Singh from Gopalganj, and Chhoti Kumari from Baniapur. The party has additionally named candidates for Chapra, Sonepur, Rosera (SC), Barh, Shahpur, and Agiaon (SC), rounding out a spread that blends organisational loyalists with fresh faces.With Wednesday’s announcement, the BJP has declared 83 candidates so far, following a first list of 71 released on Tuesday that featured Deputy Chief Ministers Samrat Choudhary and Vijay Sinha, alongside senior leaders Ram Kripal Yadav, Tarkishore Prasad, and Mangal Pandey.
The seat-by-seat rollout underscores the party’s bid to lock in momentum after the NDA finalised its alliance distribution, with the BJP and JD(U) set to contest 101 seats each, leaving the remainder to smaller partners.Thakur’s entry offers the BJP a high-visibility campaigner rooted in Maithili cultural identity, potentially appealing to young and first-time voters while consolidating the party’s narrative of local pride and national prominence. Mishra’s candidacy, meanwhile, suggests a focus on law-and-order credentials and cross-party draw in a seat that has seen shifting loyalties. The replacement in Muzaffarpur signals strategic recalibration in urban centres, where turnout and candidate connect often decide close races.
Elections to the 243-member Bihar Assembly will be held in two phases on November 6 and 11, with counting on November 14. With the NDA’s ticket distribution in full swing and the opposition still wrangling over seat-sharing in pockets, the BJP’s second list sharpens its message: a slate balancing star power, administrative experience, and cadre strength aimed at maximising strike rate across regions and social coalitions.
