- By Raju Kumar
- Fri, 31 Oct 2025 09:34 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
Bihar Elections 2015: The Mokama assembly segment of Patna district, Bihar, which has been witness to fierce rivalry between the two gangster-turned-politicians for decades, suddenly took centre stage after a strongman and a supporter of Jan Suraaj Party, Dularchand Yadav, was killed on Thursday, when he was heading for an election campaign. It remained in the news on Friday as well, as stones were pelted at the car of Veena Devi, Rashtriya Janta Dal (RJD) candidate from the Mokama constituency and wife of strongman Surajbhan Singh. The Opposition questioned the law and order in the state, asking if it is not a 'Jungle Raj'. Following the attack on Devi's car, the atmosphere in the area turned tense, prompting heavy police deployment to prevent further escalation of violence.
A Tale Of Two Musclemen Seeking Political Resurrection
Meanwhile, It is 'Chhote Sarkar' versus 'Dada' in the Mokama seat. 'Chhote Sarkar', as JD(U) candidate Anant Singh is known in the area, had an uninterrupted run since 2005, until conviction in a Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act case in 2022 led to his disqualification. His hold on the Mokama fort continued even after his conviction as he shifted his power to his wife Neelam Devi. In the ensuing by-poll, his wife retained the seat for the RJD, which had given a ticket to her husband two years earlier, though acquittal in the case by the Patna High Court has led Singh to decide that he no longer needed his spouse to hold fort.
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Anant Singh decided it was time for him to take the political plunge and contested the assembly polls in 2005, winning in February and October, both times as a JD(U) nominee. It is believed that he earned the trust of Nitish Kumar as a local strongman, while the JD(U) supremo represented in the Lok Sabha the now-abolished Barh constituency, of which Mokama was a part. Tall, powerfully built and known to wear sunglasses even indoors, Anant Singh seeks to make light of his old rival returning to challenge him on his home turf.
On the other side, 'Dada', Suraj Bhan Singh, who remains disqualified, has also sent his wife forward to continue the battle of prestige. His wife Veena Devi stands in the assembly polls on his behalf, who is in the fray on an RJD ticket.
Beginning his political career in 2000, Dada wrested the Mokama seat from Dilip Singh, the late elder brother of Anant, whom the locals called 'bade sarkar', and who also became a minister in the government headed by RJD president Lalu Prasad's wife Rabri Devi. He won the seat as an independent candidate. It is widely believed that Suraj Bhan 'dynamism' in helping Nitish Kumar install a government that year, after the assembly polls threw a hung assembly, got him noticed by the late Ram Vilas Paswan, his mentor to be. Four years later, he gave up the assembly seat and became the MP from the now-abolished Ballia seat, contesting on a ticket of the Lok Janshakti Party, founded by Paswan.
'Dada', who has been in political wilderness for some time, with none of his family members in Parliament or the state legislature, believes the people are going to vote for a change, be it Mokama or the rest of Bihar. His wife, the official candidate, asserted 'Anant Singh does not know how to talk.
The Mokama constituency has always elected a Bhumihar. But since 1990, when Dilip Singh decided he was done with providing 'assistance' to better-placed politicians, and turned the tables on one of his benefactors, the seat has belonged to a 'Bahubali'. The future of Mokama, and eight candidates who are in the fray here, will be decided by 2.84 lakh voters on November 6 in the first phase of the polls.
(With PTI inputs)