New Delhi: Bhojpuri actor-politician and RJD candidate Khesari Lal Yadav failed to make a wining start to his political career, losing the assembly election in Bihar’s Chapra to the BJP’s Chhoti Kumari.
It was not an easy victory for the BJP though, as the two candidates were locked in a tight contest through the day. After 11 rounds of counting at 4.05 pm, the BJP candidate (35,312 votes) was leading Khesari (33,352 votes) by just 1,960 votes.
But after the completion of all 30 rounds of counting, Kumari finished at 86,845 votes, while Khesari managed 79,245 votes, falling short by 7600 votes in his debut polls.
Yadav, a well-known Bhojpuri artiste, joined the RJD just before the assembly elections after months of speculation about his political entry. Initially, it was expected that his wife would contest the polls, but at the last moment, he filed the nomination himself.
During his election campaign, Khesari Lal Yadav (Shatrughan Yadav on the Election Commission documents) gave the slogan, “Neta nahi, beta ban-na hai (I don’t want to be a leader, I want to be your son)”. In his public rallies, he often spoke about the lack of education, medical facilities, and infrastructure in the region.
Both Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav and RJD chief Tejashwi Yadav campaigned in Chapra to seek support for him. Khesari also lent his voice to the RJD’s campaign song, “Tejashwi bina sudhar na hoi (There will be no progress without Tejashwi)”.
Born in Bihar’s Saran district, the 39-year-old actor-singer began his career in 1999 as a theatre performer, singing in Bhojpuri plays based on the Ramayana and the Mahabharata. He also learned the traditional folk dance, Launda Naach. Later, he moved to Okhla, Delhi, where he helped his parents and wife sell ‘litti-chokha’.
Yadav entered the Bhojpuri film industry in the 2000s and gained recognition with ‘Saajan Chale Sasural’ in 2011. His Bollywood singing debut happened in 2014 with the song ‘AK-47’ from the film, ‘Koyelaanchal’. Since then, he has never looked back, becoming one of the leading stars of the Bhojpuri entertainment world.
His interest in politics is not new. On several occasions in the past, Khesari praised leaders like Lalu Prasad Yadav of the RJD and Akhilesh Yadav of the Samajwadi Party during media interactions.
(Edited by Tony Rai)
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