Patna: There is no such thing as an ordinary election at Mokama, located about 96km from Patna. Dominated by the Bhumihars (a landowning upper caste), it will elect its representative to the Bihar assembly on 3 November, but the fight here is of two strongmen, albeit through proxies — their wives.
And to amp up the poll volume is the entry of another bahubali (strongman) who is supporting one of the candidates in the fray.
The Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) candidate is Neelam Devi, the wife of dreaded don-turned-politician Anant Singh, also known as ‘Chhote Sarkar’. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has fielded Sonam Devi, the wife of Nalini Ranjan Sharma, better known as ‘Lalan Singh’.
While Mokama has been Anant Singh’s stronghold for well over a decade, what’s balancing things out is another muscleman Surajbhan Singh. He and his wife Veena Devi are standing behind the BJP candidate and seeking votes in the name of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s good work.
The bypoll is taking place as Anant Singh was disqualified as MLA in July after being convicted in an arms case. The by-elections to Gopalganj assembly seat will also take place on the same day as Mokama, and the results for both will be out on 6 November.
While Bihar has a fair share of other politicians with criminal records, including Pappu Yadav, Anand Mohan, Prabhunath Singh, and the late Mohammad Shahabuddin, it is Mokama which retains the image of the archetypal badlands associated with caste violence and banditry.
What prompted rule of bahubalis
Mokama’s history of lawlessness is believed to be partly due to its geographical location as well as the patronage that musclemen received from political parties who used them for looting booths in an age when ballot papers were used for voting.
A large chunk of Mokama — which is located on the southern bank of the Ganga — is the taal (riverine) area which was inaccessible for a long time. “In 1980, Shyam Singh Dheeraj of the Congress contested from here. In those years, goons like Dilip Singh — the elder brother of Anant Singh — and Dularchand Yadav were used to loot booths,” said a legislator of Janata Dal (United), or JD(U).
“By 1990, all of them became MLA candidates and the late Dilip Singh became MLA on a Janata Dal ticket, defeating Dheeraj. He remained MLA till 2000 state elections in which he was defeated by Surajbhan who stood as an Independent. From 2005 onwards, Anant Singh has virtually ruled Mokama.”
In the 2004 Lok Sabha polls, JD(U) chief Nitish Kumar reached out to Anant Singh for help as he was contesting from the erstwhile constituency of Barh which housed Mokama. Not only did photos of Nitish greeting the strongman with folded hands come out in many newspapers, the JD(U) chief was also weighed in silver coins in a public event.
Also Read: ‘For the betterment of Bihar’ — Chirag Paswan promises to support BJP in upcoming by-polls
The glorified don
Anant Singh has nurtured a Robin Hood-like image especially among the poor through his own style of delivering ‘justice’. Through his proximity with power, first with the JD(U) and then the RJD, Anant Singh has amassed wealth and assets. In the 2020 poll affidavit, he officially declared over Rs 67 crore in assets.
The jailed leader faces 38 criminal cases including seven for murder, nine for attempt to murder and extortion, according to his election affidavit.
That didn’t stop politicians like Nitish and RJD chief Lalu Prasad, who once called Anant Singh a “goonda“, from promoting the 6-ft-tall bahubali who sported black glasses and was often photographed twirling his moustache.
From 2005, he has been winning from Mokama which is now his stronghold. The camaraderie with Nitish ended when the four-time MLA was arrested and sent to jail in 2015 for the murder of a youth. He still went on to win the state polls as an Independent that year.
Five years on, he won on an RJD ticket and one of his close followers, Kartikey Singh, was sworn in as law minister in August when Nitish came back with Lalu to stitch a coalition government. The RJD minister, however, quit after controversy over his alleged involvement in a kidnapping case.
Surajbhan Singh
Born in Mokama, Surajbhan Singh began as a small-time criminal in the 1980s until he caught the eye of Anant Singh’s elder brother Dilip Singh. Surajbhan was an accused in the murder of former RJD minister Brij Bihari Prasad, who was killed at a Patna hospital in 1998.
By 2000, Surajbhan’s name figured in 26 criminal cases, including of murder, kidnapping, and extortion, in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. His big moment came that same year when he contested from Mokama as an Independent and defeated his mentor Dilip Singh alias Bade Sarkar — which heralded the rivalry with Anant Singh.
He became an MP in 2004 after he won from Balia on a Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) ticket. After he became an MP, Surajbhan shifted his interest to the construction business and is said to have maintained his gun power.
The don-turned-strongman was jolted in 2008 when he was handed a life term for the murder of a lawyer and three others that took place way back in 1992. Currently out on bail, Surajbhan is barred from contesting polls.
His wife Veena Devi got elected from the Munger Lok Sabha seat on a LJP ticket in 2014. Five years on, his brother Chandan Singh won from Nawada.
The ‘other Lalan’
Known to be close to Surajbhan, Nalini Ranjan Sharma alias Lalan Singh has been a thorn in the flesh of Anant Singh since 2005 when he lost to him by a thin margin in Mokama. Lalan had contested on a LJP ticket.
He and his wife Sonam Devi contested in 2010 and 2015 on LJP tickets and emerged as the main opponent of Anant Singh.
Lalan faces over 30 criminal cases ranging from murder and attempt to murder to kidnapping and extortion.
After his stint with LJP, he switched allegiance to the JD(U), and then to the BJP this month. His wife Sonam Devi was soon announced as the BJP candidate. “It is a matter of pride to get a ticket from the BJP,” Lalan had told journalists after the name of his wife was announced,
The proverb of “Loha loha ko katta zhia (Iron cuts iron)” is the justification being given by the BJP leaders in their private talks, hinting at the similar background shared by Lalan and Anant Singh.
The lawlessness of 1990s
In the 1990s when political parties started to increasingly give tickets to politicians with criminal cases, the heads of the three regional parties of Bihar justified it with questionable logic.
“So what ? Even Sage Valmiki was a dacoit,” remarked RJD founder Lalu Yadav when asked in the 1990s about why he was giving tickets to people with criminal records. Nitish went a step further in 2005 when he gave the ticket to Anant Singh. “Ish hamam mein sab nange hai (There is nothing to hide),” he had quipped in reply to media queries on how he fielded a tainted candidate.
The late Ram Vilas Paswan of the LJP was unapologetic, claiming that he was doing a favour to society by providing a career switch for people with criminal records.
“From 1990 to 2005, there were 149 murders in Mokama and yet only 13 FIRs were lodged by relatives of the victims. The rest were police cases. Very few dared to go to the police,” remarked a local JD(U) leader.
Murders have declined after 2005 but the terror of musclemen remains, he said.
“Since 1990, road and train connectivity has vastly improved and so has the condition of power supply. But nobody from outside has dared to enter Mokama and invest. The trading community still lives under the shadow of extortion and fear,” the JD(U) leader added.
(Edited by Tony Rai)
Also Read: Bihar, Haryana to Telangana—this is why Modi-Shah have high stakes in Assembly bypolls