Top News

Patna. The election battle in Bihar’s Mokama assembly constituency is centered around two musclemen, Anant Singh and Suraj Bhan Singh, who dominate the political story of the region. Voting is to be held in the first phase in Mokama on November 6. From this seat, Janata Dal (United) has fielded strongman Anant Singh, while Rashtriya Janata Dal has fielded Veena Devi, wife of former MP and influential leader Suraj Bhan Singh. Mokama sets the stage for a direct clash of political legacies in one of the most volatile but politically important constituencies. Anant Singh, often addressed as Chhoti Sarkar by his supporters, has dominated the political scene of Mokama since 2005, regardless of his political affiliation.

Read :- Bihar Assembly Elections: Administration responsible for the murder of Dularchand – Prashant Kishore

Despite switching parties from JDU to Independent and then to RJD, he maintained a strong hold on the seat until his conviction under the Unlawful Activities Act in 2022, due to which he was disqualified from the Assembly. Anant Singh’s elder brother Dilip Singh previously represented this constituency and was a minister in the RJD government. In the 2000 election, Surajbhan Singh, known locally as Dada, won the seat for the first time by defeating Dilip Singh. However Anant Singh captured the constituency in 2005 and has retained it for four consecutive terms since then.

He first won this seat in 2005 on a JDU ticket and retained it in the subsequent 2005 and 2010 assembly elections. After being expelled from JDU in 2015, he contested the elections as an independent candidate and still managed to win. Following his conviction, RJD fielded his wife Neelam Devi in ​​the upcoming by-election, where she successfully retained the seat. After being later acquitted by the Patna High Court, Anant Singh is now in the fray with determination to reclaim his political turf. In contrast, RJD’s Veena Devi, who is the wife of don-turned-politician Surajbhan Singh. Adding another layer of political intrigue to the contest. There will be a tough contest between the two Bhumihar candidates in Mokama constituency, dominated by upper caste Bhumihar voters. In the 2020 elections, Anant Singh on RJD’s election symbol secured 78,721 votes and defeated JDU’s Rajeev Lochan Narayan Singh by a margin of over 35,757 votes. Rajeev Lochan got 42,964 votes. Voting in the constituency was 54.07 percent. In the 2015 assembly elections, Anant Singh won the election as an independent candidate and secured 54,005 votes, defeating JDU’s Neeraj Kumar who secured 35,657 votes. There was 56.96 percent voting in this election. The constituency again came into limelight when Jan Suraj Party worker Dularchand Yadav was shot dead on Thursday during a clash between two groups during election campaigning in Mokama. According to the police, the incident occurred when convoys of two parties collided with each other and the argument escalated into firing. Barh-2 sub-divisional police officer SDPO Abhishek Singh said that police received information that convoys of two parties were passing each other, when one party opened fire on the other over some issue and also tried to crush them. FIR will be registered and further action will be taken. FSL has been informed. Proper investigation will be conducted here and further action will be taken. Yadav’s murder has once again brought into focus the culture of muscle power and violent rivalry that has defined Mokama’s politics. This has sparked debate among locals and political observers over whether parties should continue to field candidates with strong criminal backgrounds, cutting across party lines. It is being said that the local voters of Mokama are looking towards a candidate who can provide them better employment opportunities, better infrastructure and respite from the long-standing association of criminal politics with the constituency.