A Generational Shift Is Underway In Bihar Politics

The Bihar movement, nationally known as the JP movement, is widely credited with providing the last generation of political behemoths to the state.

Figures like Lalu Yadav, Ram Vilas Paswan, Nitish Kumar and Sushil Modi emerged from this movement to dominate both state and national politics.

However, it seems that a generational shift is now underway in Bihar politics, with the sons and daughters of senior politicians taking up the mantle.

Chirag Paswan 

Chirag Paswan is contesting from Hajipur in an attempt to solidify his father Ram Vilas Paswan’s legacy in the constituency. He is also heading Lok Janshakti Party Ram Vilas (LJPR), a faction formed after the death of senior Paswan. Chirag’s political rival and uncle Pashupati Paras is out of the race. 

Winning Hajipur and pulling as much Dalit votes as possible for National Democratic Alliance (NDA) will further solidify his position as ‘Hanuman of PM Modi’, an adjective Chirag prefers being called as.

Tejashwi Yadav

Tejashwi Yadav is son of Lalu Yadav and currently represents Raghopur assembly constituency in Bihar Vidhan Sabha. In general election (GE), he is a star campaigner of Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD). Junior Yadav has gathered considerable momentum in the party's favour through his stint as deputy chief minister of Bihar and later ‘Jan Vishwas Yatra’. 

When needed, Tejashwi has shown willingness to act as a ‘crisis man’. When Pappu Yadav revolted in Purnea, Tejashwi accompanied the RJD candidate in filing nomination papers.

Rohini Acharya 

Rohini Acharya’s name first started to reverberate in Bihar when she donated a kidney to her father Lalu Yadav. On popular demand, she is contesting from Saran, a seat where Lalu Yadav has won in the past. In her way of re-establishing Yadav family's supremacy is Rajiv Pratap Rudy, former union minister.

Rudy has tried to downplay her by stating that he is fighting against Lalu Yadav and not Acharya. On her part, Acharya has also thrown a dice by asking support from Ashwini Choubey, a senior BJP leader unhappy with the party for not giving him ticket from Buxar.

Misa Bharti

Bharti, the eldest daughter of Lalu Yadav and Rajya Sabha member, is contesting from Patliputra constituency. Normally considered as pacifist, Bharti recently attacked National Democratic Alliance (NDA), especially Prime Minister Narendra Modi on multiple issues, one of them being the promise of jobs.

She will be contesting against Ram Kripal Yadav, incumbent Member of Parliament (MP) from Patliputra, in what is supposed to be a Yadav versus Yadav tussle.

Sambhavi Choudhary 

Sambhavi Choudhary is daughter of Janata Dal (United) or JD(U) leader Ashok Chaudhary. She is contesting on LJPR ticket from Samastipur, supposedly a special seat designated for her by Chirag Paswan. Choudhary, 25, is the youngest candidate from Bihar. She has completed her masters from Delhi School of Economics.

Apart from her family background in politics, she also gained academic knowledge about the state from her doctorate on “intersectionality of gender and caste in Bihar politics”.

Samrat Choudhary is currently Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar and head of Bihar unit of BJP. He is son of Shakuni Choudhary, former (MP) from Khagaria. Samrat has spent considerable time in RJD and JD(U). He is currently the Other Backward Class (OBC) face of the party in state.

Choudhary's role in seat distribution among NDA members is highly regarded. His party presidency is considered as one of the most stable ones in decades. Under him, BJP has taken senior leadership in coalition. Choudhary is currently in charge of campaign and other election related activities in the state.

Vivek Thakur

Vivek Thakur is the son of Chandreshwar Prasad Thakur, senior BJP leader and a former union minister. 54-year old Vivek began his political journey from Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BYJM) and has handled multiple posts in the party. It's a testament to his perseverance that the party handed him a Rajya Sabha seat in 2020 and finally Lok Sabha ticket from Nawada in 2024.

Thakur is one of the few Bhumihar faces of the party. Bhumihars, a traditional vote bank of BJP, has shown signs of discontentment from the party in the last half decade. In Nawada, responsibility of pulling them in along with ensuring backward votes rests on Vivek Thakur’s soldiers.

Sanjay Jaisawal

Sanjay Jaisawal is son of Madan Prasad Jaisawal, former Bettiah MP and one of the founding members of BJP. He is the predecessor of Samrat Choudhary on Bihar BJP chief post. A doctor by profession, Sanjay inherited his father’s politics after his death in 2009. Instead of Bettiah, he decided to contest from Paschim Champaran, a newly formed constituency. 

Jaisawal is eyeing a fourth consecutive victory from Paschim Champaran. 

Sushil Kumar Singh 

Sushil Kumar Singh is son of Ram Naresh Singh, former Aurangabad MP from Janata Dal ticket. Kumar Singh himself won from this seat on Samata Party ticket in 1998. In 2009, he won on JD(U) ticket, while in 2014, Singh joined the Modi wave. In local circles, he is sometimes referred as prince of Aurangabad and is quite active in the constituency.

Singh doesn’t invoke his father much, a principle which he has maintained during his 2024 campaign as well.

Ashok Yadav 

Ashok Yadav is the son of Hukumdev Narayan Yadav, former union minister in Narendra Modi cabinet. After proving his mettle in state politics, Ashok Yadav got a Lok Sabha ticket from Madhubani in 2019, a seat won by his father in 2009 and 2014. He maintained the party's hold on the constituency.

Before 2024 elections, Ashok Yadav is embroiled in a court case and is out on bail. It will be interesting to see how people of Madhubani respond to him after it.

Apart from these leaders, Anshul Avijit, the national spokesperson of Congress and son of former Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar, the daughter of the late Congress heavyweight and former Defence Minister Jagjivan Ram, is also expected to receive a ticket.

For many Biharis, these young faces bring a renewed sense of hope.

However, there is also a lingering concern about the possibility of this generation inheriting the same issues from the last one — caste being one of them.