Patna: The political landscape of Bihar is being reshaped by an intense personal rivalry set to explode into a high-stakes electoral battle in the Mokama Assembly constituency. The seat, long associated with regional strongmen, is now poised for a fiery showdown between the powerful camps of Suraj Bhan Singh and five-time winner Anant Singh.
The feud was reignited after Anant Singh, who recently secured his release following a conviction, made derogatory remarks about Suraj Bhan. Suraj Bhan, a former MP and Parliamentary Board Chairman of Pashupati Paras’s Rashtriya Lok Janshakti Party (RLJP), has taken the slight personally and vowed to contest the Mokama seat again, a constituency he previously won as an independent in 2000 by defeating Anant Singh’s elder brother, Dilip Singh.
RJD’s Strategic Maneuver
In a major development, Suraj Bhan’s politically influential family is switching allegiance to the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD). Suraj Bhan, his wife and former Munger MP Veena Devi, and his brother and former Nawada MP Chandan Singh, were scheduled to officially join the RJD on Saturday. However, the induction was postponed to Sunday, as Tejashwi Prasad Yadav prioritized efforts to resolve the Grand Alliance’s seat-sharing impasse involving the Congress, CPI-ML, and Mukesh Sahni.
Sources indicate that Veena Devi is expected to be the family’s candidate, positioning her to reclaim her husband’s political legacy in Mokama. This potential candidacy presents a significant internal challenge for the RJD, as the seat is currently held by Anant Singh’s camp; his wife, Neelam Devi, won the 2022 by-election on the RJD ticket after Anant Singh’s conviction.
Internal Conflict and Political Weight
Anant Singh, who has won Mokama consecutively since 2005 (three times on a JDU ticket, once as an independent, and in 2020 on an RJD ticket), has already shown his firm resolve by openly announcing he will file his nomination on October 14th, preempting the official release of the Grand Alliance’s candidate list.
The RJD’s move to induct the Suraj Bhan family, which commands significant political influence across seven districts (having elected himself, his wife, and his brother as MPs from Ballia, Munger, and Nawada), is a bold strategic stroke. This Bhumihar-centric maneuver is designed to strengthen the RJD’s position and potentially fracture the NDA, but it simultaneously forces the party to choose between two formidable strongman factions for one of the state’s most high-profile seats.
