Alinagar: Clad in a saree, head adorned with a ‘paag’—the traditional headdress of the Mithila region—and a ‘mata ki chunari’ draped gracefully around her shoulders, 25-year-old Maithili Thakur steps down briskly from one of the SUVs in her convoy.
She’s running late for her door-to-door campaigning.
The BJP candidate from Alinagar, part of Bihar’s Darbhanga district, she has her task cut out—she needs to visit at least 13 places, including roadshows and public rallies. Even as the rain has turned the road to slush, Thakur, who is from Benipatti in neighbouring Madhubani district in north Bihar, is undeterred.
With local party leaders hovering close, she folds her hands and greets residents, especially women—young and elderly alike.
As ThePrint follows Maithili Thakur on a campaign trail, it seems like a careful mix of energy and emotional appeal. As she gets out of the SUV at a narrow road in Ganoun village, a bike is there to help her navigate the narrower lanes.
“Time bohat lag jayega, bike se jaldi andar pahuch jayenge (it will take too long otherwise. We’ll reach faster on the bike),” explains one of her aides Ayush to villagers and her supporters, who look amused.
There is a bit of a frenzy as youngsters try to catch a glimpse of Thakur, with many trying to take selfies and some even attempting to make a reel.
“Inki performance hum dekhe hain, bohat acha gaati hai (I’ve seen her perform, she sings very well),” explains Rajesh Kumar as the ‘haan hum Bihar hai ji, thode sanskari hain’ song by Bhojpuri singer and Lok Sabha MP Manoj Tiwari plays in the background.
The women are excited too. Some hug her, others greet her and try to take a selfie. “BJP is giving a chance to a young leader. She is inexperienced, but we need to support her if we want more youngsters to join politics,” says Phool Kumari.
“My vote is for PM Modi and whether it is Thakur or anyone else I will vote for the BJP,” says Priyanka, busy clicking pictures of Maithili Thakur.
The BJP, in giving a ticket to Maithili, has also highlighted that a young leader who does not belong to a political family, has been given a chance. Union Home Minister Amit Shah, while addressing a rally in Alinagar in support of Thakur, asked rhetorically: “Rajniti mein yuvayon ko mauka milna chaiye ya nahi milna chaiye? Koi rajnatik background se sambandh nahi (Should youngsters with no political background get a chance or not?).”
Recounting her meetings with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who she describes as her inspiration, Maithili Thakur says the BJP has given an opportunity to a young woman to contest elections.
‘Our vote is for the PM’
With Maithili Thakur, the party is trying to build an emotional connect with voters, presenting her as ‘Mithila ki beti’. The BJP hopes that in Maithili, they have someone who will appeal to the women and youth, while also take care of the caste factor.
Thakur too has been referring to herself as the ‘daughter of Mithila’, a factor which seems to be working for her. “She is the daughter of Mithila and she takes pride in that. It is true she is inexperienced, but we have full faith in PM Modi and our vote is for him,” explained Rajesh Singh, a resident of Pali in Alinagar.
However, not everyone is convinced. “Woh Delhi rahengi, humari samasyaein kaun sunega? Humein yahin ka pratinidhi chaiye (She will stay in Delhi, who will listen to our problems? We want a local representative),” says Sunil Kumar, a resident of Ganoun village.
When it is pointed out that celebrities usually forget about their constituencies after winning elections, Thakur responds: “Woh dhaarna todne ke liye aayi hu (I am here to debunk that notion)”. Maithili says that with air connectivity through Darbhanga airport, staying connected to her constituency will be an easy task.
Support from top guns
The party’s top leadership has thrown its might behind Thakur—while Shah has already held a rally in her support, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar also held a roadshow in support of her. BJP’s Bihar poll in-charge Union minister Dharmendra Pradhan has been watching her campaign closely, and the local unit has been pressed into action to provide all support to Thakur.
“In Maithili we have a young candidate who is a woman, and a popular folk singer whose popularity will also benefit the party politically in the region,” said a local BJP leader.
Thakur has already courted a series of controversies prompting the party to ensure her campaign is managed closely and with caution to ensure she doesn’t face public resentment.
Addressing the recent controversy over her statement regarding renaming Alinagar to Sitanagar, Thakur reiterates: “Jo janta janardan chahti hai wahi hoga, uske virudh kuch nahi hoga…. Arre hum kahan Hindu-Muslim kar rahein hai… hum Maa Sita ki dharti pe hain (Only what people want will be done. I am not doing Hindu-Muslim, I am in the land of Sita),” says Thakur, as her supporters chant Jai Shri Ram.
As we quiz her further about this becoming a ‘Hindu-Muslim’ issue, her aides and party workers interrupt and point out that such questions should be posed to them instead.
The BJP decided to field Thakur after Mishri Lal Yadav, who won the 2020 election from the Vikassheel Insaan Party (VIP) and later joined the BJP, was convicted in a 2019 case of criminal intimidation and his assembly membership revoked.
The BJP denied a ticket to Yadav, and he resigned from the party on 11 October. Party leaders say the decision was also taken to address public resentment and to counter anti-incumbency in the region.
The seat is considered an RJD bastion and in 2010 and 2015, RJD leader Abdul Bari Siddiqui had won from Alinagar. During the 2015 assembly elections, Mishri Lal Yadav who was the BJP candidate, lost to Abdul Bari Siddiqui of the RJD.
“In the 2020 elections, the RJD played the Brahmin card in Alinagar. The party nominated Binod Mishra. To counter the RJD’s Brahmin push, the NDA fielded Yadav. The RJD lost in a close contest. Thakur is now pitted against RJD candidate Binod Mishra who had lost the 2020 election by a narrow margin of 3,000 votes. The Jan Suraaj Party (JSP) has fielded Biplav Chaudhary.
The ‘outsider’ tag
Thakur is also trying to address the controversy over her being ‘parachuted’ into Alinagar as the BJP candidate, overlooking many ‘deserving’ workers. “Yeh sab meri maa, behen, chachi, mami jaise hain. Bohat pyaar mil raha hai. Mai inki apni beti hu, logon ke bahari bolne se kuch nahi hoga (They are like my mother, sister, aunt. I am getting a lot of love. I am their daughter, it doesn’t matter that people say I am an outsider),” she explains to ThePrint,
Trying to get rid of the ‘outsider’ tag, the BJP candidate also makes it a point to greet people in fluent Maithili and even breaks into small talk. As her convoy moves ahead trying to wrap up the campaigning for the day, Maithili gets down at another village and soon the area is flooded with people. Women and children gather quickly and greet her by putting the ‘paag’ on her head as a symbol of respect.
Apart from a section of BJP leaders being upset over her candidature, there is also some local resentment over her being fielded. Speaking to ThePrint, district president of Darbhanga (east) BJP Vinay Paswan said there is no issue of ‘outsider’ and Thakur has the support of all sections of society. “Koi ‘bahari’ mudda nahi hai. Maithili toh Mithila ki beti aur Bihar ka gaurav hai (There is no ‘outsider’ issue, Maithili is Mithila’s daughter and Bihar’s pride),” he said.
The party is also banking on her social media following and public appeal. The local unit is also hopeful that her connection with the younger generation will work in the party’s favour. The singer has 6.3 million Instagram followers and posts regular updates about her events.
Caste combination at work
Caste combinations are also at work in this constituency, as both Maithili and the RJD candidate are ‘upper caste’ Brahmins. In fact, Alinagar is one of the few assembly constituencies in Bihar where Brahmin and Muslim voters play a decisive role in elections.
Alinagar has a Scheduled Caste population of approximately 13% and a Muslim population of over 21%. Brahmins voters are around 20-21%.
“Thakur is a Brahmin, but at the same time quite popular across all castes. Not only this, she will also get the support of women from all castes and classes and this will ensure her victory,” said a BJP leader.
Thakur is also making a special effort to reach out to women voters. As her convoy moves through Pali, she slows down the car to wave and greet the women with folded hands.
At some points on the campaign trail, she even gets down from the car, hugs the women, cracks jokes and laughs with them, making a conscious attempt to integrate with the crowd and the surroundings. Between greetings, she shares her vision for the constituency—building roads, ensuring a Kendriya Vidyalaya (KV) school, and creating more opportunities for the youth.
“Meri performance best rahegi (my performance will be the best)”—she says with a smile.
(Edited by Viny Mishra)
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