Bihar MP speaks to Fadnavis in Marathi, aids Maha pilgrims in language of love

A video of Sitamarhi MP Devesh Chandra Thakur speaking in fluent Marathi while hosting over 100 pilgrims from Maharashtra who had escaped flood-hit Nepal and crossed into Bihar has gone viral. In another video, he was seen speaking to Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis in Marathi. How did the Bihar MP become so fluent in Marathi, and is there a message in times of Marathi imposition?Sitamarhi MP Devesh Chandra Thakur hosted 106 Maharashtra pilgrims returning from flood-hit Nepal. (Images: Social Media)"Ek number Maharashtrian food. It made our hearts happy. Sir, the bhaji is ek number. The food has been cooked with love," says a woman in Marathi, as she had dinner under the open sky with dozens of people around her. In the viral video, behind her stood a man, who said, "That's the most important thing." The man is Devesh Chandra Thakur, the JD(U)'s Lok Sabha MP representing the Sitamarhi seat in northern Bihar.The woman was among more than 100 pilgrims from Maharashtra, who had crossed into northern Bihar after escaping the disaster in Nepal. The district administration hosted them, arranged food and shelter and prepared to send them safely onwards to Nagpur. And the man ensuring that was Sitamarhi MP Devesh Chandra Thakur. In another video that went more viral than the previous one, Thakur was seen speaking to Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis in fluent Marathi. "Ho saheb! There's no problem. They're all with us, safe," the 73-year-old MP told Fadnavis, while trying to arrange and augment an additional coach to the Patna-Naned Express for the pilgrims.The videos of Sitamarhi MP Thakur drew a range of reactions on social media. Some were amazed. Others expressed admiration, saying this was the linguistic harmony India needed. Many others noted the irony of a Bihari politician speaking Marathi even as migrants from the eastern state face hostility and pressure to use the native language in Maharashtra. Some also pointed out that Thakur had learnt Marathi because he had lived and studied in Maharashtra.And that last observation explains exactly how Sitamarhi MP Devesh Chandra Thakur was able to break into Marathi while speaking to pilgrims returning from Nepal and to Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis over the phone. The catastrophic flash floods that struck Nepal on August 26 near the Nepal-Tibet border, sending ice, rock, mud and water through the Bhote Koshi-Trishuli river system. Days later, a group of 106 pilgrims from Maharashtra crossed into Bihar through Sitamarhi, where the district administration provided food, shelter and medical care before sending them to Nagpur via Patna.The disaster in Nepal also raised water levels in several rivers flowing into Bihar, including the Gandak, Bagmati, Kamla Balan and Kosi. Bihar consequently placed vulnerable northern districts on alert, although the NDRF reported no major adverse impact from the Nepal floods. Now, back to the story of Sitamarhi MP Devesh Chandra Thakur and how the 73-year-old became fluent in Marathi. It was not a result of a crash course taken for an occasion.BJP Kisan Morcha national IT and social media co-incharge Rahul Jha wrote on X, "Devesh Chandra Thakur Ji has had a well-established business in Maharashtra for years, and, knowing him personally, I can say that he has a good command of Marathi."Born in Sitamarhi, Thakur studied at Sainik School in Nashik before moving to Pune. He completed his BA Honours at Pune's Fergusson College and obtained his law degree from ILS Law College, according to his profile on the Sansad website.Thakur entered student politics in Pune and contested a students' union election at the then University of Pune, now Savitribai Phule Pune University.According to his profile on the Sitamarhi district administration website, Thakur was a member of the Maharashtra State Youth Congress Committee from 1970 to 1980. He subsequently served on the Maharashtra State Congress Committee between 1980 and 1985.He later became a vice-president of the Maharashtra Pradesh Youth Congress and worked closely with Congress veterans Vilasrao Deshmukh and Sushilkumar Shinde, both of whom went on to serve as Maharashtra chief ministers, according to a 2024 report in The Times of India (TOI).The TOI report described Thakur as someone raised in Pune who retained strong social and political links with Maharashtra even after moving his political base to Bihar. "People of Bihar think Thakur is a Maharashtrian, while people of Mumbai and Pune feel he is '‘pakka Bihari'," the report noted.That explains Thakur's fluency and the ease with which he switched to Marathi while speaking to CM Fadnavis.Before entering the Lok Sabha in 2025 for the first time, Thakur served as a member of the Bihar Legislative Council starting in 2002. He also served as the chairman of the Council from August 2022 until his election to Lok Sabha in June 2024.So, the videos of Thakur gained resonance on social media as language has been a contentious political issue in Maharashtra. That too, for people from Bihar. A recent directive requiring autorickshaw and taxi drivers in Mumbai to speak Marathi triggered a row, prompting the Maharashtra government to give them a year to learn the language. Against that backdrop, the sight of a Bihar MP speaking fluent Marathi inevitably drew attention.But politics aside, the Maharashtra pilgrims needed food, shelter, medical assistance and a safe journey home, and they received all of that in Bihar. In their moment of distress, they heard the language of home. Marathi became a language of reassurance. There, Marathi was not imposed nor resisted. It was spoken with love.- EndsPublished By: Sushim MukulPublished On: Sep 2, 2026 08:00 IST