Bihar election: AIMIM to expand electoral footprint into Mithilanchal; young folk singer Maithili Thakur may contest polls on BJP ticket

After the Election Commission announced the schedule for Bihar Assembly polls, governmental developments are moving heavy and accelerated successful the State with the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul (AIMIM) declaring that it would participate the contention successful Mithilanchal portion aft it won 5 seats successful Seemanchal areas of northeastern Bihar past election.

The EC announced connected Monday that the 243-member Bihar Assembly volition spell to polls successful 2 phases connected November 6 and 11. The counting of votes volition beryllium taken up connected November 14.

“After Seemanchal, AIMIM volition present contention successful 4 seats successful Mithilanchal country of Jale, Bisfi, Keoti and Darbhanga town,” declared AIMIM person and Lok Sabha MP Asaduddin Owaisi portion addressing a nationalist gathering astatine Kumrauli nether Jale Assembly constituency of Darbhanga territory connected Monday.

Mithilanchal country of bluish Bihar comprises Madhubani, Darbhanga, Jhanjharpur, Supaul, Munger, Saharsa and different districts. Darbhanga and Madhubani districts successful Mithilanchal person a sizeable Muslim colonisation that could determine the electoral destiny of candidates successful the upcoming election.

In the nationalist meeting, Mr. Owaisi criticised Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) person Tejashwi Yadav and the BJP arsenic well.

In the 2020 Assembly polls, the AIMIM contested successful 24 seats successful the State and won 5 from Seemanchal country of Kishanganj, Purnea and Araria districts wherever the Muslim colonisation is implicit 55%. However, successful June 2022, 4 of the party’s 5 MLAs defected to articulation the Opposition RJD leaving the State enactment main and MLA Akhtarul Iman the lone 1 to stay successful the party.

Several artists person made thrown their chapeau into the ringing arsenic well. Folk-cum-devotional vocalist from Mithilanchal, Maithili Thakur precocious met with apical Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders and said she “hopes to commencement her governmental travel from her village”. Popular Bhojpuri histrion Akshara Singh called connected Union Minister and elder BJP person Giriraj Singh connected Tuesday to question his “blessings”.

After gathering BJP leaders Nityanand Rai and Vinod Tawde, Ms. Thakur told media persons: “I’m waiting for the authoritative announcement... If I get the authorization to service my region, determination volition beryllium thing bigger than this opportunity. I’m not coming present (Bihar) to bash authorities oregon play games. My extremity is to person powerfulness to bring astir a alteration arsenic the adjacent 5 years are precise important for Bihar”.

The buzz successful governmental circles is that the 25-year-old singer, hailing from Benipatti successful Madhubani district, is apt to beryllium fielded either from Benipatti oregon Alinagar (in neighboring Darbhanga district) Assembly constituencies by the BJP. Both the seats are presently represented by BJP MLAs Vinod Narayan Jha and Mishri Lal Yadav, respectively. Mr. Yadav, however, was disqualified from rank of the Assembly precocious aft his condemnation successful a transgression case.

Similarly, Bhojpuri histrion Akshara Singh met Giriraj Singh, a Union Minister and two-time enactment MP from Begusarai, connected Tuesday with sources adjacent to Ms. Singh saying she expressed her tendency to instrumentality the governmental plunge successful the upcoming Assembly election. She, though, called it a “courtesy gathering to person his blessings”.

Earlier successful 2023, Ms. Singh had met Jan Suraaj Party laminitis Prashant Kishor but, later, categorically stated that she was lone drawn to the “ideology” of the party. There is speculation that fashionable Bhojpuri histrion Khesari Lal Yadav’s woman is apt to contention the upcoming polls from Manjhi Assembly constituency connected an RJD ticket.

Recently, Bhojpuri movie prima Pawan Singh had met elder BJP leaders, including Union Home Minister Amit Shah and state Rashtriya Lok Morcha person Upendra Kushwaha successful Delhi, with speech successful governmental circles that helium would contention the polls from immoderate of the 22 seats falling successful Shahabad country of the State. In the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, Mr. Singh had contested from Karakat parliamentary constituency and was a runner-up portion pushing Mr. Kushwaha to 3rd position. Mr. Singh was besides said to beryllium instrumental successful the decision of respective BJP candidates successful Shahabad arsenic helium has sizeable enactment among young voters of the area, particularly from upper-caste Rajput community.