In a major development ahead of the Bihar Assembly elections, celebrated folk and devotional singer Maithili Thakur officially joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Patna on Tuesday, October 14, 2025. Bihar BJP president Dilip Jaiswal welcomed her into the party. Insiders suggest that Ms. Thakur is a strong contender to contest the upcoming polls from the Alinagar constituency in Darbhanga.
During the event, Mr. Jaiswal expressed strong confidence in a decisive victory for the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), stating that voters were resolute in forming an NDA government with a “thumping majority.” He also sharply criticized the Opposition’s mahagathbandhan alliance, describing them as “disheartened and depressed,” and boldly predicted that several ‘Grand Alliance’ MLAs would soon defect to the BJP.
Mr. Jaiswal continued his remarks, asserting that the Opposition was merely making futile statements to the media. He claimed that over a dozen MLAs from the RJD (Rashtriya Janata Dal)-Congress alliance are poised to join the BJP, adding rhetorically, ‘Aage aage dekhiye hota hai kya’ (just wait and see what unfolds). He concluded by declaring that the Opposition was ‘collapsing everywhere’ and had ‘a flat tyre.’
Earlier on the same day, the BJP officially announced its first roster of 71 candidates for the impending Bihar Assembly elections. The party’s central election committee endorsed notable figures such as Mangal Pandey for Siwan, Tarkishore Prasad for Katihar, Ramkripal Yadav for Danapur, Nitin Nabin for Bankipur, Renu Devi for Bettiah, Prem Kumar for Gaya Town, Shreyasi Singh for Jamui, Deputy Chief Minister Vijay Kumar Sinha for Lakhisarai, and Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Chaudhary for Tarapur, among others.
The election for Bihar’s 243-seat Assembly is slated for November 6 and November 11, with vote counting scheduled for November 14.