As the Nitish Kumar government sailed through to a 129-0 majority in the trust vote on Monday after Opposition MLAs staged a walkout, three Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) MLAs and one from the Janata Dal (United) grabbed the limelight. While the RJD’s Sheohar MLA Chetan Anand, Mokama legislator Neelam Devi, and five-time Suryagarha MLA Prahlad Yadav cross-voted for the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), the JD(U)’s Sitamarhi MLA Dilip Ray was the lone ruling alliance member to skip the floor test. Chetan Anand (Sheohar MLA) First-time MLA Chetan is the son of former MP and political strongman Anand Mohan. He contested the 2020 Assembly polls on an RJD ticket after being denied candidature by other parties. Speculation about him was rife after the Patna Police on Sunday night arrived at former Deputy CM Tejashwi Yadav’s residence following a missing person complaint filed by Chetan’s brother Anshuman Anand. Anand Mohan is said to have grown to close CM Nitish Kumar after the state government last year ordered his early release from jail, where he was lodged after being convicted in the lynching of former Gopalganj District Magistrate G Krishnaiah. After his release, the former MP invited Nitish to his village Panchgachiya in Saharsa district. Sources said either Anand Mohan or his wife Lovely could end up contesting the Lok Sabha seat. Despite the possibility of Chetan being disqualified from the Assembly, Anand Mohan is likely to take it in his stride for bettering his own political prospects. Neelam Devi (Mokama MLA) Neelam Devi is the wife of Mokama “bahubali” and former MLA Anant Singh. She was elected Mokama MLA on an RJD ticket in a 2022 bypoll necessitated by the conviction of her husband. Though she represented the RJD in the House, she was known for her inclination towards the NDA. Neelam Devi unsuccessfully contested the Munger Lok Sabha seat in 2019 as a Congress candidate, losing to JD(U)’s Rajiv Ranjan Singh. Prahlad Yadav (Suryagarha MLA) The five-time MLA, according to sources, voted for the Nitish government due to his cordial relations with a senior JD(U) leader. Yadav, who has been in the sand business for a long time, began his political career with the Communist Party of India (CPI) after winning his first election as an Independent in 1995 and joined the RJD in 2000. Sources said the three MLAs believe that despite cross-voting they would remain legislators for the time being as disqualification proceedings, if initiated by the RJD, will take time to complete. Meanwhile, JD(U) MLA Sudhanshu Ranjan on Monday evening filed a complaint against two persons for allegedly abducting Dilip Ray who was the sole JD(U) legislator to skip the trust vote. Ray was an RJD MLC and switched to the Nitish Kumar-led party ahead of the 2020 Assembly polls, which he won from Sitamarhi.
