Where Angels Fear to Tread

While slain Dularchand Yadav is referred to as a dacoit, Anant Singh is a Bahubali. In Bihar, caste is an undeniable fact where most Bahubalis belong to the upper castes and have a lot of wealth accumulated through their many dealings and those who come from the lower castes are called baghis (rebels) or dacoits. In this world of guns and gangs, political patronage continues...

- By Chinki Sinha

OUTSIDE a blue building in Barh, a few police personnel are looking out for any signs of trouble. The area has been on alert since the killing of a former gangster, Dularchand Yadav, in Mokama's Tartar village on October 30. The feast is due. It will happen after justice is delivered. But justice is an elusive concept in Bihar, where criminalisation of politics has existed since time immemorial.

Arrests have been made, and Mokama MLA Anant Singh, contesting on a Janata Dal (United) ticket, is in judicial custody for the murder of a former Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader who had allegedly called Singh's wife and ex-MLA Neelam Devi a nautch girl before being killed after backing Jan Suraaj's Piyush Priyadarshi. Since then, the area has been on high alert. Violence during elections is not new in Bihar. In 2005, JD(U)'s Nitish Kumar had fought the elections on the promise of ending Jungle Raj in Bihar. It is ironic, then, that the 2025 Bihar assembly election is again being fought by the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) alliance with that narrative. While the Mahagatbandhan is faced with the task of fighting that label that has become synonymous with RJD founder Lalu Prasad Yadav’s reign, where the rule of law had been suspended and killings and kidnappings were reported frequently, the truth is not always that black and white in Bihar, which has witnessed massacres and caste-wars and seen criminal-politicians defy law and order and become ministers. A look at the candidates from both the alliances confirms that many Bahubalis (strongmen) are in the electoral fray and in cases where the Bahubalis have been convicted, their spouses or children are trying to claim what they think is theirs. Over 22 such candidates or their kin are contesting this time: nine from RJD, seven from JD(U), four from BJP, two from Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) and one from Jan Suraaj. In 2020, there were 17. Nearly half now face criminal cases.