The battle for Mokama Assembly seat is a high-profile one as it is a battle of survival among musclemen. Former Janata Dal United (JDU) strongman Anant Singh, popularly known as Chhote Sarkar, is in fray, along with two other musclemen.
While NDA constituent Ram Vilas Paswan's Lok Janshakti Party has fielded its candidate from this seat, BJP cadres are openly supporting Anant Singh, who is contesting as an independent. This has certainly become a cause of worry for the LJP candidate.
Anant Singh came to light when Patna Police arrested him in connection with Futus Yadav murder case just ahead of the Assembly elections. Currently he is behind the bars in Bhagalpur jail. But the irony doesn't end here, RJD supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav has provided caste hue to the arrest of the strongman. According to Lalu, he put pressure on Nitish Kumar to arrest Anant Singh, once a close aide of the Bihar CM.
The arrest of Anant Singh has become a political issue in entire state. BJP leaders have raised the issue during their election rallies and tried to reach out to the Bumihar caste. The attempt was to bring the forward class vote in its favour.
However, no political party dared to give him a ticket due to his past criminal record. Anant Singh's close aide Kartik told News18 that it was the leader's decision to fight the election as an Independent candidate.
From Mokama Constituency, Mahagathbandhan has fielded JDU spokesperson Neeraj Kumar while from NDA, it is LJP candidate Kanhaiya Singh, known for his past criminal record. He is the younger brother of mafia don Surajbhan Singh.
The fight, however, is triangular because of Lallan Singh, He is contesting on a ticket from Pappu Yadav's Jan Adhikar Party. The similarity among candidates is that they belong to the same caste, Bhumihar.
The contest also becomes interesting because JAP candidate Lallan Singh was close associate of Surajbhan Singh for the last 35 years. It is widely believed in the region that Lallan has played a key role in the rise of Surajbhan as a mafia don. But a poll ticket to Surajbhan's younger brother did not go down well with Lallan Singh.
Speaking to News18, Singh said, "I was with Suraj when he needed me the most. It was clear that I was getting the ticket. But at the last moment I was denied due to dynasty politics. Surajbhan has kicked me out in one go."
Polarisation in favour of Anant Singh
Anant Singh is known as Robin Hood in the region. On one hand, he targets businessmen and musclemen, while on the other, he is always willing to help people in need. That is the reason he is known as Chhote Sarkar in Barh, Bakhtiyarpur and Mokama.
Anant Singh's poll campaign is being looked after by Kartik. When News18 reached his place, he had just returned from electioneering, and there was a pool of supporters there. Pointing towards some people in the crowd, Kartik said, "Meet Paswanji and Yadavji. We have support of all castes. Caste is not a issue here. The fight is one-sided. Netaji has clear vision and his slogan is 'Bahu-Beti se Atyachar, Nahin Sahega Chhote Sarkar' (Chhote Sarkar will not tolerate any atrocity against women and girls)."
Another man present at Kartik's residence claimed that Futus Yadav had crossed all limits of harassment. For women, the name was synonymous with hell. "He was openly teasing women and daughters," said the supporter.
A local journalist told News18 that JDU was not in contest from this seat. The actual fight is between Anant Singh and Lallan Singh.
This constituency has 80,000 Bhumihar voters, who will decide the fate of candidates. In this constituency, the key issue of Bhumihar community is to defeat Mahagathbandhan and they think Anant Singh is the only man who can do this.
Surprisingly, LJP, who is part of NDA in this election, is not getting support from BJP cadres. One of the local BJP leaders said, "On which moral ground we should oppose Anant Singh? We are seeking vote in his name elsewhere. How can we oppose him here?"
Even Anant Singh's supporters accept this fact and say, "Our goal is remains the same, to teach a lesson to Lalu."
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