Chirag, Prashant, Tejashwi, & Nitish: Who Will Hold Power in Bihar?

This year's Bihar election appears to be quite intriguing because of the young leaders who are battling to rule the state. The Bihar election has never generated as much excitement as it has this year, with numerous strategies to grab the opportunity. All parties have not left the single stone to present  themselves as promising and prominent leaders in the eyes of the people of Bihar. But the master stroke led by the Election Commission Special Intensive Revision (SIR) is expected to bring about substantial changes in the voting system. 

Bihar is soon going to decide who will be their Chief Minister. However, this time the decision will be challenging due to the presence of several prominent leaders, with younger candidates vying for the position. The young faces somewhere weaken the Nitesh Kumar led NDA, while the Mahagathbandhan, including RJD, raise the challenges for the opposition Party. Along with the alliance vote, sharing will play key role as Special Intensive Revision may introduce certain gaps in the voting system. While announcing the scheduled dates for the Bihar Legislative election, which will tale place from November 6 to November 11, 2025, the Election commission has reported that 7.43 crore people are registered as voters. 

The graph released the data from the Bihar Government's caste-based headcount/survey released in 2022:

• OBCs: ~ 27.12 %

• Extremely Backward Classes (EBCs): ~ 36.01 %

• Scheduled Castes (SC): ~ 19.65 %

• Forward/General castes: ~ 15.52 %

• Scheduled Tribes (ST): ~ 1.68 % 

Meanwhile, some changes can be witnessed after the Special Intensive Revision.

Let's highlight some points of promising leaders:

Nitish Kumar: The Janata Dal (United) leader serving as the 22nd Chief Minister of Bihar since 2015. JD(U) and NDA alliance have very old relation. In 2005, when NDA won a majority in the Bihar Legislative Assembly, and Nitesh Kumar became chief Minister heading a coalition with the Bharatiya Janata Party. The advantages Nitish Kumar has are long experience, a strong network in Bihar, also known for the "good governance" narrative in past. Bihar has witnessed numerous transformation after Nitish Kumar became the chief minister. He also served as Railway Minister, Minister of Surface Transport and the Minister for Agriculture in 1998-1999. Interestingly, he has taken the initiative like internet ticket booking facility, opening a record number of railway ticket booking counters, and tatkal scheme for instant booking. Further, he has promoted women's education and empowerment by initiating the distribution of bicycles to girls, which significantly increased school enrollment among girls. 

Downfall In Nitish Kumar Political Career: Switching to other parties somewhere may appear to be setback in Nitish Kumar's political career. Hence, a significant misstep occurred in 2017 when he was bound to return to the NDA after his deputy and son of Lalu Prasad Yadav Tejaswi Yadav faced corruption allegations. Further, a series of scandals, including the Srijan scam, which involved the embezzlement of government funds in Bihar amounting to several crores by the non-government organization Srijan Mahila Vikas Sahyog Samiti (SMVSS), in collaboration with government and banking officials. 

Chirag Paswan: Recently, one of the popular leaders of Bihar, Chirag Paswan and party Lok Janshakti Party have announced more than 12 candidates in the Bihar assembly election. His party is dedicated to the vision of "Bihar First, Bihari First," while also striving to secure a victory for the National Democratic Alliance (NDA). The Actor cum politician has now become one of the most powerful leaders in Bihar, as people already expecting him to be the next Chief Minister of Bihar. However, Chirag Paswan has clarified in the interviews with media that he is not fighting this election to become a chief Minister despite the fact he is already serving as Union Minister of Food Processing Industries. 

In the year 2012, Chirag entered politics; before that, he was a Bollywood actor and also did a film with Kangana Ranaut. Subsequently, Chirag Paswan not only chose to shift his career but also established himself in the political arena. The biggest turning point in his career was in 2014 when he successfully won the Lok Sabha elections from the Jamui constituency in Bihar. Further, in 2019, he was re-elected from Jamui, and in the same year, he also elected as the LJP's national president. After his father Ram Vilas Paswan death, he gave a strong electoral performance in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, where it achieved a 100% strike rate in all five seats it contested. 

On the other side, Chirag Paswan's strategy has also involved broadening his traditional Paswan support base to include other Dalit communities, including the Chamars. His outspoken matters impacting the broader Dalit community have enabled him to garner backing from these groups, which were formerly associated with different political parties.

Prasant Kishor: One of the biggest twists in the Bihar election is the entry of the new party," Jan Suraaj." A party that has no godfather, has no political lineage, and has not participated in election for an extended period, yet it continues to capture the hearts of the people in Bihar. Do you know why? It is because this party is uniquely positioned to compete with those established parties that have been political arena for the long haul. The strategist tuned politician understands campaign mechanics, messaging, and innovation. Reports says that Prashant's Kishor's party is already popular among migrants workers from Bihar than people of the state. 

Early Phase Of Prashant Kishor Political career:   During the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, Prashant Kishor began his association with the BJP, where he was responsible for the campaign strategy that facilitated Narendra Modi's ascent to national agent. Further, he felt uneasy with the BJP's stringent Hindutva stance and its polarizing political approach. During many interactions with media, Kishor  frequently specified his belief in "centrist and inclusive politics," which somewhere does not match with BJP's ideological trajectory after 2014.  Kishor relations soured with Amit Shah, and he felt sidelined and excluded from decision making inside the BJP. After the fallout with BJP, Prashant Kishor began working with regional parties like TMC, DMK, JD(U) and INC believing they could counter attack BJP's national dominance. 

In 2015, Kishor joined the Janata Dal (United) in Bihar and the campaign for the Grand Alliance JDU+RJD+ Congress. As a result, the alliance defeated BJP, delivering a significant setback to Modi-Shah duo. After the result, Kishor was appointed as the Vice President of JD (U), which represented his initial entry into politics. But his stay was not long due to internal conflicts and Nitish's re-alliance with BJP. 

While working with regional parties in 2021 Prashant Kishor and his organization IPAC (Indian Political Action Committee), collaborated with TMC to stop BJP's aggressive campaign in West Bengal. Hence, to assist TMC the objective was to halt the  BJP's growth in eastern India and maintain a political environment free from BJP. Though, the result victory of TMC in 2021 with massive number of seats. 

Tejeshwi Yadav: Presently, people facing challenges such as inadequate infrastructure, unemployment, or corruption that may turned voter against Nitish Kumar and  could view Tejashwi as the main alternative. 

Political work Highlights: Tejeshwi embodies a new wave of leadership in Bihar, standing in stark contrast to continues the Lalu Yadav legacy. During the 2020 Assembly election, Tejashwi's campaign slogan "10 Lakh naukriyan," (10 Lakhs jobs) resonated profoundly with the youth. He led the RJD-led Mahagathbandhan as its Chief Ministerial candidate. The coalition nearly achieved victory, securing 110 seats from a total of 243 (the RJD became the largest party with 75 seats). His focus on job creation, educational reform, and reversing migration trends appeals to those who are discontented with the prevailing economic stagnation in Bihar. 

Discussing about the Bihar election Prasant Kishor turned to be headache for the present ruling government also an alliance. Subsequently, Chirag Paswan and Tejeshwi Yadav seems to be tough competition. On the other side, the most intriguing aspect will be to observe if Prashant Kishor secures a minimum of five to ten seats following the election, will he pursue an alliance? If so, which party will he align with NDA, JD(U) or RJD? He stands out as the sole candidate with a fresh image and enjoys popularity among the locals.