What happened to Gen Z candidates in Bihar?

Some time ago, in Nepal, adjacent to Bihar, members of the Gen Z generation staged a powerful protest and staged a coup. Then, the Gen Z generation also came into the spotlight during the protests in Ladakh. Then, it was the turn of the Bihar Assembly elections, and many young Gen Z members entered the electoral fray. They posed a formidable challenge to prominent figures, some succeeding and others failing. Maithili Thakur, from this generation, made history, becoming Bihar’s youngest MLA.

The 2025 Bihar elections were significant in many ways. First, record-breaking voter turnout set new records. Then, the NDA surprised everyone by winning 202 of the 243 seats. The Grand Alliance led by the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) performed poorly, winning only 35 seats.

Maithili Thakur became an MLA at the age of 25.This generation, which came of age in the age of smartphones, is constantly in the news. This new generation, known as Gen Z, has also entered the electoral fray in Bihar. Bhojpuri singer Maithili Thakur, who turned 25 in July, has been the most popular face of this generation. Shortly after turning 25, Maithili joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and the party subsequently gave her a ticket from the Alinagar seat in Darbhanga district.

In the Bihar election results, everyone’s attention was focused on the Gen Z generation. This generation is the young generation born between 1997 and 2012. They are also known as digital natives. They are the first generation to grow up in the era of the internet and smartphones. Four young people, aged between 25 and 28, contested the elections.

Maithili Thakur, who rose to fame at a young age singing Bhojpuri songs, was fielded by the BJP from the Alinagar constituency. Initially, there was dissatisfaction with her candidacy, but things gradually settled down. After trailing a couple of times in the early stages of counting, she began to gain a lead and ultimately won. Maithili won by a margin of 11,730 votes.

Maithili Thakur received 84,915 votes, while her nearest rival, Binot Mishra of the Rashtriya Janata Dal, received 73,185. The minimum age for contesting elections in India is 25, and she won and became an MLA at that age.

Was Raveena Kushwaha able to save her husband’s seat?Similarly, another prominent Gen Z figure was Raveena Kushwaha. While Maithili comes from a non-political family, Raveena comes from a political family. Her husband, 53-year-old Ram Balak Kushwaha, has been a multiple-time MLA. Due to a court ruling, Ram Balak could not contest the elections. Therefore, she secured a ticket from her party, the Janata Dal United.

Raveena Kushwaha is just 27 years old and married Ram Balak last year. He was elected MLA in 2010 and 2015, but lost in 2020. This time, Raveena contested the Vibhutinagar seat in Samastipur. She even took the lead during the counting, but failed to secure victory. Communist Party of India (M) candidate Ajay Kumar won the election by a margin of 10,281 votes. With this defeat, Raveena’s dream of winning her first assembly election was shattered.

What about Baahubali Munna Shukla’s daughter Shivani?Like Maithili Thakur, 27-year-old Shivani Shukla was also in the spotlight. She belongs to the Gen Z generation and also comes from a political family. Her father is the powerful Munna Shukla, who has also been active in politics. However, even her father’s strong image and vigorous campaigning failed to secure Shivani’s victory.

Shivani, who contested from the high-profile Lalganj seat in Vaishali district, also suffered a crushing defeat. She lost by a margin of 32,167 votes. BJP’s Sanjay Kumar Singh received 127,650 votes, while Shivani, who contested on an RJD ticket, received 95,483. She holds an LLM degree from the University of Leeds, London. Prior to this, she completed her BA-LLB from Bengaluru.

Mom and Dad lost their seats after a tough fight.Similarly, a Gen Z candidate was fielded in the Sandesh constituency of Bhojpur district. 28-year-old Deepu Singh Yadav also comes from a political family. His elder father, father, and mother have all served as MLAs, all from the Sandesh constituency. His father, Arun Yadav, won the election in 2015, and his mother, Kiran Devi, in 2020. Prior to this, Deepu’s uncle, Virendra Yadav, was also elected MLA twice.

But Deepu couldn’t maintain his family’s legacy. However, the contest in Sandesh was extremely close, with a margin of victory of just 27 votes. Deepu, contesting on a Rashtriya Janata Dal ticket, received 80,571 votes. His closest rival, Radha Charan Sah of the Janata Dal United, received 80,598 votes, thus falling just 27 votes short of victory.

The 29th year has proved unlucky for the youth.In addition, major political parties also gave opportunities to those who are most closely aligned with Gen Z. These are young people under the age of 30. All three candidates under the age of 29 failed to win. 29-year-old Ravi Ranjan, contesting on an RJD ticket, lost the Asthawan seat in Nalanda district by a margin of 40,708 votes. JDU’s Jitendra Kumar emerged victorious.

The Communist Party of India (CPI(ML-L)) fielded 29-year-old Dhananjay Kumar for the Bhore seat in Gopalganj district. He also put up a strong fight but lost to JDU’s Sunil Kumar. Sunil won the contest by a margin of 16,163 votes.

The Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) fielded 29-year-old Rupa Kumari from the Fatuha assembly seat in Patna, the capital. But she too lost. RJD’s Dr. Ramanand Yadav won the election by a margin of 7,992 votes.

All three candidates of 30 got victorySimilarly, three candidates under the age of 30 also contested. Aditya Kumar, a 30-year-old JDU candidate from the Sakra seat in Muzaffarpur district, won by 15,050 votes. Komal Kushwaha, a young candidate from the Gaighat seat, also won by a margin of over 23,000 votes.

Meanwhile, 30-year-old Rakesh Ranjan, who contested on behalf of the BJP from the Shahpur seat in Bhojpur district, also tasted victory. Rakesh managed to become an MLA with 15,225 votes.