Maithili Thakur: Bihar’s Voice Finds a New Stage in Politics
Bihar singer Maithili Thakur (Image credit X.com)
The BJP fields folk sensation and YouTube star from Madhubani, celebrated for reviving Maithili traditions, in Bihar’s 2025 elections.
By AMIT KUMAR
Patna, October 15, 2025 — Maithili Thakur — the mellifluous voice that has revived Bihar’s Maithili folk and devotional heritage — is now stepping into politics. The 25-year-old singer, who has enchanted millions across India with her renditions of bhajans, Chhath geets, and Ramcharitmanas verses, joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) yesterday. A day later, the BJP fielded her to contest the Assembly elections in Bihar from the Alinagar constituency.
Folk singers are making hey in the Bihar Assembly elections with political parties placing premiums on them. Bhojpuri singers are bagging attention from the political parties. Thakur is also a Bhojpuri singer.
Born in Benipatti, Madhubani, Thakur’s journey mirrors the soundscape of Bihar itself — steeped in devotion, resilience, and regional pride. Trained in Hindustani classical and Maithili folk traditions, she has performed in over ten languages and amassed over five million YouTube subscribers. Her ongoing Manaspath series, reciting Tulsidas’ Ramcharitmanas, has crossed 800 episodes and nearly a billion views.
Her induction into the BJP comes amid the party’s strategy to tap into Bihar’s cultural icons. At the joining ceremony in Patna, Thakur expressed a desire to “serve the soil that nurtured my art.”
“I want the authority to serve my region… The next five years are crucial for Bihar,” she said, emphasizing rural empowerment and youth development.
Thakur’s rise has been as organic as her music. From singing at jagrans as a child to performing before Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the Ayodhya Ram Temple inauguration, her journey reflects how digital media can transform traditional art into mass movements.
She credits her father, musician Ramesh Thakur, and her grandfather, Pandit Biharilal Thakur, for nurturing her talent. Alongside her brothers, Rishav and Ayachi, she has become a household name synonymous with Bihar’s folk devotion.
Awarded the Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar (2022) and the National Creators Award (2024), Thakur has been hailed as “the voice of Indian culture” by Prime Minister Modi. Her role as ambassador for the Bihar State Khadi Village Industries Board and the Madhubani district further deepens her image as a bridge between tradition and transformation.
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