JD(U)’s man for all seasons, Mokama ‘bahubali’ Anant Singh’s path back to Bihar poll fray clear after court reprieve

Singh is a former Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) member now with the ruling Janata Dal (United) and his acquittal was criticised by his former party. “Though we cannot comment on the court’s verdict, it is the failure of the prosecution to stand by its case, especially when lower courts had convicted Singh in two cases … Irrespective of legal aspects, Singh will play his part in the 2025 Assembly polls. He is one muscleman (Chief Minister) Nitish Kumar failed to bring to the book as he did in case of other Bihar musclemen,” said an RJD leader who did not wish to be named. A JD(U) leader, however, said once a court acquits someone, it was “not proper to ascribe motives or blame to the government”.

Since Singh, 57, first became an MLA from Mokama with the JD(U) in 2005, he has continued to play a role in state politics. Singh first met Nitish Kumar in the run-up to the 2004 Lok Sabha elections after being introduced by his brother Dilip. Nitish had been planning to contest from the Barh Lok Sabha seat and met with the brothers to gather support despite not being comfortable about meeting strongmen-politicians. However, Nitish knew the brothers would play a key role in influencing the upper-caste Bhumihar vote in Barh.

Though Singh was unable to ensure Nitish’s victory from Barh, the JD(U) chief won from his second seat, Nalanda, and Singh has since remained a key political player for the JD(U), notwithstanding his changing allegiances.

In the 2010 Assembly polls, he was re-elected from Mokama. But after the JD(U) allied with the RJD ahead of the 2015 Assembly polls, he fell out with Nitish Kumar and quit the party. Forced to contest as an Independent, Singh managed to win Mokama against the formidable alliance of Nitish and RJD chief Lalu Prasad.

By the 2020 Assembly polls, Singh was in the RJD and went on to win comfortably from Mokama. It became a common refrain that Bihar may have “Nitish sarkar” but “Mokama has Chhote Sarkar”. Singh’s elder brother Dilip, a former state minister, was known as “Bade Sarkar”.

In July 2022, Singh, who was facing 38 criminal cases at the time, was convicted in the two Arms Act cases. While he was subsequently disqualified as an MLA, his wife Poonam Devi contested the Mokama bypoll in November 2022 and won by more than 17,000 votes despite the JD(U)’s high-pitched campaign.

Singh changed sides yet again after Nitish ended the alliance with the RJD and returned to the BJP-led NDA. Forced to prove his majority on the floor of the House, Poonam Devi was among the three MLAs who crossed over at the last moment to support the new JD(U)-BJP government.

Singh’s importance to the JD(U) was especially visible during the recent Lok Sabha elections when he was out on parole. Sources said the JD(U) wanted him to galvanise the upper-caste Bhumihar voters in Munger for its candidate and current Union Minister Rajiv Ranjan Singh alias Lalan Singh. At the time, the RJD accused the state government of misusing its powers by granting parole to Singh on the “flimsy pretext of settling a property division in the family”.