Biker-ex-cop Anand Mishra is BJP's bet to reclaim Buxar seat

Buxar: Former IPS officer Anand Mishra, a 2011-batch officer of the Assam-Meghalaya cadre, is the BJP's surprise pick for the Buxar seat in the 2025 elections. The 44-year-old ex-officer, who quit the service to enter politics, had made headlines in 2024 when he contested the Buxar Lok Sabha seat as an independent and secured around 50,000 votes, signalling his growing popularity - especially among the youth.

Initially seen as a rebel, Mishra's performance appears to have impressed the BJP leadership, which has now chosen him to contest the assembly seat. Known for his grassroots outreach, he set up an "Anand Sewa Kendra" earlier this year on the Buxar-Jaso road to help villagers access government welfare schemes and track beneficiaries. After being named the party's candidate, he renamed the centre "Kamal Sewa Kendra", invoking the BJP's lotus symbol.

"I believe caste barriers can be overcome with effective implementation of welfare schemes. My focus is on solving the problems people face in accessing them," Mishra told ET. A passionate biker and guitarist, he is known for his informal style - jeans, T-shirts, and an "army cut" - and for connecting directly with young voters.


A lifelong RSS "bal-sakha," Mishra says the BJP was always his natural political home. However, he faces an uphill battle - the party has lost the seat in the last two assembly elections, and cracks remain in its OBC (especially Kushwaha) and SC voter base. Confident of breaking those barriers, he tells voters: "Bhaiyon, wardi ki koi jaati nahi hoti (A uniform has no caste). All that matters are the right ideas for development - and I have them."