Patna: The Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) has fielded Shivani Shukla, daughter of influential leader and strongman Munna Shukla, from the Lalganj Assembly constituency in Bihar. Her candidacy has stirred political attention, marking another instance of dynastic presence in the 2025 Bihar Assembly elections.
Shukla filed her nomination papers on October 17 after personally collecting her party ticket from former Chief Minister Rabri Devi’s residence. The seat is expected to witness a direct contest between her and incumbent BJP MLA Sanjay Singh, making it one of the key battlegrounds in this election cycle.
A native of Khanjaha Chak village under Lalganj police station, Shivani Shukla completed her early education at Delhi Public School, RK Puram. She went on to pursue a BA LLB from Alliance University, Bengaluru, before earning an LLM from the University of Leeds, United Kingdom.
According to her nomination affidavit, Shukla declared movable assets worth around Rs 21 lakh, including cash and bank deposits across multiple accounts. She also disclosed an education loan of approximately Rs 36 lakh taken for her studies abroad. Her husband, Varun Tiwari, reported cash holdings of Rs 48,900, while the couple owns no immovable property.
Shivani Shukla stated that her decision to contest the elections is driven by a desire to bring a “politics of education and development” to Bihar. However, she also openly acknowledged that one of her key motivations is to seek the release of her father, Munna Shukla, who remains in jail.
