Bihar Election Result: The dazzling magic of the Bhojpuri industry could not impress voters in the Bihar Assembly Elections 2025. Heavy campaigning, stardom, and a buzz on social media, nothing worked. Trends emerging by the afternoon made it clear that neither Bhojpuri superstar Khesari Lal Yadav nor Ritesh Pandey, the face of the Jan Suraj Party, could cast their spell. Both are trailing in their respective seats. Meanwhile, BJP's folk singer Maithili Thakur is the only artist maintaining a lead in a tough contest.
Khesari Lal Yadav, who contested on an RJD ticket from the Chhapra seat, is considered a big name in the Bhojpuri cinema world, and many experts believed his stardom could translate into votes. However, the ground reality turned out to be different. Until the seventh round in Chhapra, BJP's Chhoti Kumari was leading with 22,031 votes. RJD candidate Shatrughan Yadav alias Khesari Lal Yadav was trailing with 19,439 votes. Meanwhile, Jan Suraj's Jai Prakash Singh was nowhere in the contest.
This time, the BJP replaced its old candidate with a new face, Chhoti Kumari, and their gamble paid off against the opposition party. Khesari's popularity not only failed to convert into votes but the seat also appeared to be clearly leaning towards the BJP.
Ritesh Pandey, the star candidate of the Jan Suraaj Party and a Bhojpuri singer-actor, faced a significant defeat in the Karaghar seat. In the initial trends, he was ahead for a short while, bringing some enthusiasm to the Jan Suraaj camp that perhaps Prashant Kishor's party might get at least one win. However, as the counting rounds progressed, the electoral atmosphere completely turned against him.
After 14 rounds of counting, the picture became completely clear. JD(U)'s Vashishth Singh secured 42,749 votes and maintained the first position. BSP's Uday Pratap Singh received 24,985 votes, and Congress's Santosh Mishra got 21,557 votes. Ritesh Pandey's performance was very weak, and he was confined to fourth place with only 6,103 votes. This was not just a defeat; Ritesh couldn't even secure a spot in the top 3. This was a double failure for PK. The party was wiped out with zero seats, and their star candidate was nowhere to be seen in a tough contest.
While the Bhojpuri stars lagged behind, BJP's 25-year-old folk singer Maithili Thakur put up a strong fight in Alinagar. She was contesting elections for the first time, but her performance was impressive. As of the 14th round, Maithili Thakur had received 49,673 votes, while RJD's Binod Mishra was at 42,364 votes. Alinagar has approximately 80-90% Brahmin voters, considered the traditional base of the BJP. Despite the challenges of Maithili's young age and her first electoral outing, she maintained her lead.
