Mokama braces for a duel of musclemen

The flood-ravaged terrain of Bihar’s Mokamais bracing for a high-voltage clash between two don-turned politicians — Anant Singh and Surajbhan Singh.

- Sanjeev K Jha

Located around 90 kilometers from state capital Patna, Mokama will go to polls in the first phase of the Bihar assembly elections next month.

Anant Singh, popularly known as “chhote sarkar”, was elected as an MLA from Mokama four times, representing the Janata Dal (United) or JD(U) in 2005 and the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) in 2020. He also won as an independent candidate in 2015.

In 2020, he won while in jail as an RJD candidate but was later disqualified after his conviction under the Arms Act in 2022. His wife, Neelam Devi, won the ensuing bypoll but voted in favour of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) during the floor test in February last year. This year, Anant Singh has filed his nomination as a JD(U) nominee, while the RJD has fielded Veena Devi, the wife of another criminal-turned-politician Surajbhan Singh alias “dada”.

Anant, who faces at least 38 criminal cases, including charges of abduction and murder to violations of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) and Arms

Act, belongs to the dominant Bhumihar caste, which has over 100,000 voters in Mokama seat.