Two hours since the counting began in the Bihar Assembly elections, the NDA, led by the BJP and JD(U) in Bihar, has established that they are here to stay. By 10:15 am, the NDA has a steady lead of 160 seats, while the RJD-led Mahagathbandhan is trailing at 78, proving the exit poll results are on the mark.
However, one candidate that has grabbed all the eyeballs among the bigwigs in the Bihar electorate is Maithili Thakur, the BJP candidate from Alinagar. Maithili, a popular folk singer and the winner of the prestigious 'Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar' of the Sangeet Natak Akademi (SNA) in 2021, is on her way to make her win in her debut elections.
As of 10:30 am, Maithili is far ahead of Binod Mishra, who was considered the frontrunner till polling day. While Maithili Thakur continues to strengthen her position with 3,794 votes, gaining 1,826 votes over Mishra, Jan Suraaj Party’s Biplaw Kumar Choudhary is far behind with 197 votes, while AAP’s Rajipal Jha remains at the bottom of the tally with 53 votes.
Meanwhile, Bhojpuri superstar Khesari Lal Yadav’s fate is uncertain after contrasting reports suggest he is both trailing and leading. Khesari Lal is the RJD candidate in the Chhapra Assembly seat, once a stronghold of Lalu Yadav. Last time, the BJP won the seat. This time, the party has fielded Chhoti Kumari.
It has to be seen whether Chhoti Kumari will give Khesarilal a tough fight since she is new to the constituency. She has served as the District Council President, and her husband, Dharmendra Sah, is the BJP's District General Secretary. She belongs to the Vaishya community, which has a significant population in this area.