- By Soumyaroop Mukherjee
- Sat, 15 Nov 2025 05:51 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
The results of the Bihar Assembly Elections 2025 have sent shockwaves through the political spectrum of India. While the NDA won 202 seats, the Mahagathbandhan was bundled up in only 35 seats. But the real story of this year’s election has been the fate of heavyweight candidates who have not been able to reflect their political clout amongst the electorate.
Candidates like Tejashwi, Prashant Kishor and Mukesh Sahani became overnight sensations on the internet with many terming them kingmakers, next chief ministers and deputy chief ministers. But the results have not met their expectations, let alone exceeded them.
Now, as they prepare for their political future, here is a list of candidates who caught the media's attention during the Assembly elections but fizzled out in the end.
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Candidates Who Failed In Bihar Despite Media Buzz
Mukesh Sahani (VIP): Projected as the Deputy Chief Minister of the Mahagathbandhan, Sahani's Vikassheel Insaan Party failed to win even one seat. The VIP chief was in the middle of the news throughout the campaign phase, sharing the stage with key leaders like Rahul Gandhi and Tejashwi Yadav. In the end, he only became a key figure in the Grand Alliance's crushing defeat.
Tej Pratap Yadav (Janshakti Janata Dal, Mahua): Following his split from the RJD and ongoing public feud with Tejashwi Yadav, the former RJD leader launched his own party, making promises in his constituency. After the election, however, he faced a crushing loss with negligible voter support. Placed third from Mahua, the JJD candidate secured 35,703 votes. The battle of Mahua was won by Sanjay Kumar Singh (LJP-R), who secured a 44,997-vote over the RJD's candidate, Mukesh Kumar Roshan.
Rajesh Kumar (Congress, Kutumba): The disappointing result for the Congress state chief, Rajesh Kumar, highlighted the party's overall struggle. His personal loss in Kutumba, where he was beaten by Lallan Ram (HAM) with a margin of 21,525 votes, was compounded by the Congress's wider poor showing. Out of 61 seats contested, the Congress managed to win just 6.
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Shakeel Ahmed Khan (Congress, Kadwa): A prominent Congress leader who has served as the in-charge of Bengal in the past, Khan suffered because of the lack of political clout of the party as a whole in the state. A former MLA, Shakeel, lost to BJP's Dulal Chandra Goswami by 18,368 votes.
Manish Kashyap (Jan Suraj Party, Chanpatia): The star personality of media who became a household name due to his fiery interviews suffered a crushing defeat in Chanpatia. Congress’s Abhishek Ranjan defeated BJP’s Umakant Singh by 602 votes while Manish himself finished third with 37,172 votes. Despite consistently making headlines with his videos and statements, he failed to convert votes on the ground.
Shivdeep Lande (Independent, Araria): A renowned IPS officer, he failed to grasp Bihar politics. He finished fourth, garnering only 4,085 votes. Congress's Abidur Rahman defeated JDU's Shagufta Azim by 15,741 votes. Owaisi's party came in third.
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Pushpam Priya (The Plurals Party, Araria): TPP supremo Pushpam Priya finished eighth in the Darbhanga seat, garnering only 1,403 votes. NOTA cast 1,468 votes. This is her second consecutive election defeat.
Ritu Jaiswal (Independent, Parihar): The former RJD women's state president contested the Parihar seat for the second time, but finished second, losing to the BJP's Gayatri Devi by 17,189 votes. Her campaign's failure highlighted a disparity where media hype and "tall claims" on the internet did not translate into ground support.
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KC Sinha (Janusraj, Kumhrar): Renowned mathematician and an educationist, Sinha catapulted into the media spotlight immediately after filing his nomination. However, weak organisational skills and poor understanding of politics contributed to his loss. In the assembly elections, Sinha came third with 15,017 votes. BJP candidate Sanjay Kumar defeated Congress's Indradeep Kumar Chandravanshi by 47,524 votes.