Comparisons are unfair, but they often get blurred in Mokama Assembly constituency, located just 95 km from Patna, as two of the most feared dons of Bihar’s badlands contest against each other representing opposing blocs — the National Democratic Alliance and Mahagatbandhan. “It’s a clash of personalities rather than parties,” claimed Vinay Singh, 38, a businessman in the constituency.

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The heated rivalry came to the fore on October 30, when 1990s-era strongman and Jan Suraaj Party leader Dularchand Yadav, a close aide of Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad, was shot dead in a taal (wetland). It is alleged that supporters of Janata Dal (United) candidate and bahubali Anant Singh, 58, popularly known as “Chhote Sarkar” (Small government), are behind the murder. However, Mr. Anant Singh himself has blamed his rival, Suraj Bhan Singh, another strongman known as “Dada” (elder brother). His wife and Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Veena Devi is the Mahagatbandhan’s candidate for the seat.

Dominant force

On a pleasant early winter morning, Suraj Bhan Singh was in hurry to begin the campaign trail and came out of his room in a palatial house to strike an immediate chat with this reporter in vest and pyjama. Mr. Singh wears scores of colourful amulets and divine beads wrapping his neck and right hand wrist in iridescent threads, but, limping with bandaged right feet because of an operated wound, first he started chatting with the gathered crowd who were addressing him as “Dada” in affectionate tone. He asked one of his escorting men for tea to offer and a kurta for him to wear at once. Within a minute he was in yellow kurta and white pyjama ready to begin his campaign trail to Kondi, a village panchayat. His spacious house behind a petrol pump at Sakarwar Tola in Mokama town, has a large canopy outside in the campus where his supporters were sipping hot tea while rowed of red plastic chairs were arranged neatly. Inside the hall of the indoor lift-fitted house, few people were having breakfast. Several luxury vehicles were parked outside in the petrol pump premises and on the road, few publicity vans of the candidate Veena Devi are moving like centipedes on the road while, a group of cattle are chewing fodder at one far end of the football ground like house compound. 

Also Read | Bihar ex-MLA Anant Singh, 2 others arrested over Dular Chand Yadav death case in Mokama

Anant Singh, 58, and his family have been the dominant force over Mokama constituency for last 35 years, since 1990, barring 2000-2005 when Suraj Bhan Singh had defeated Dilip Singh, elder brother of Anant Singh as an Independent candidate from the seat. Suraj Bhan Singh once was the protégé of Dilip Singh, who was even a minister in the previous RJD regime of Rabri Devi and had represented Mokama constituency twice in 1990 and 1995. His youngest brother Anant Singh, though, reclaimed the Mokama Assembly seat in 2005 and since has never been defeated, though, he hopped from one political party to another and once even contested as an Independent candidate. After winning the 2020 Assembly election on RJD ticket, when Mr. Singh was disqualified from contesting poll following conviction in an Arms Act case pertaining to the seizure of an AK-47 rifle, a hand grenade and ammunition from his ancestral house at Ladma village in Barh constituency, some 20 kms from Mokama, his wife Neelam Devi won the by-poll from the seat in 2022. He, though, was acquitted in the case from Patna High Court in 2024 and back to poll arena on the ruling party JD(U) ticket. The RJD fielded Veena Devi, wife of another strongman of the area Suraj Bhan Singh, apparently, to counter the JD(U) candidate Anant Singh’s fire and muscle power. Suraj Bhan Singh, 60, too was debarred from contesting election after being convicted in a murder case in 2008.

Earlier, Suraj Bhan Singh had won the Lok Sabha election from Balia constituency of Begusarai district in 2004, and later, fielded his wife Veena Devi from Munger Lok Sabha constituency in 2014 on Lok Janshakti Party ticket which she also had won. In 2019, Mr. Singh’s younger brother, Chandan Singh became MP from Nawada LS constituency on Lok Janshakti Party ticket. After death of LJP founder leader Ram Vilas Paswan when the party got bifurcated post 2020 Assembly elections, Mr. Singh chose to be with Rashtriya Lok Janshakti Party-led by Pashupati Kumar Paras, younger brother of Mr. Paswan. In 2024, Mr. Singh, though, made another political turnaround and joined Rashtriya Janata Dal which fielded his wife Veena Devi as Mahagathbandhan’s candidate from Mokama Assembly constituency this year.

When asked what are the chances of his wife to win the poll against four-time MLA and bahubali (strongmen), Suraj Bhan Singh, seated at the front of a luxury vehicle, said humbly like a seasoned politician, “it’s all in the hand of people of Mokama…but I do not fear anyone…there is no bigger bahubali than people of the constituency”.

But, does he know why RJD has fielded his wife against Chhote Sarkar’s candidature? “Yes, I know it well”, he quipped with an expensive smile on his face. His wife Veena Devi, the candidate, though, is nowhere to be seen. Anant Singh had already hit the campaign trail in a taal (wetland) area. However, a publicity van carrying cut-out portrait of garlanded Anant Singh with folded hands amidst pictures of other NDA leaders including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, was seen moving on the road with snail’s pace appealing people on mic to vote for him.

ADR data on criminal cases

“It’s basically a contest between Dada and Chhote Sarkar…let’s see whose muscle power proves heavier than other”, said Manoranjan Singh in his mid forties, buying grocery outside Mokama town police station and added in hushed tone, “this time power in Mokama is set to flow not from the ballot but from the bullet. It will be a clash of two fearsome musclemen”. According to a report released by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), 32% candidates in Bihar Assembly elections this time have declared criminal cases against them while, 27% face serious criminal charges.

Situated on the banks of the river Ganga, Mokama constituency in Patna district, is also known for its huge tracts of taal and diara (riverine) areas where farmers toil hard, usually to grow lentil and other seasonal crops. Agriculture and cattle rearing are the mainstay of Mokama’s economy. Earlier, it had enterprises like Bharat Wagon and Engineering Limited, a manufacturing unit of Bata footwear and an Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) production unit and plants, but they are all defunct now.

Mokama has 2.89 lakh voters, dominated by the upper caste Bhumihar community (around 85,000 voters), to which both Mr. Anant Singh and Mr. Suraj Bhan Singh belong, followed by the Yadavs (about 40,000 voters). Voters of the Kurmi caste, classified as Other Backward Class, and Dhanuk, Paswan, and Sahani castes (Extremely Backward Classes) account for over 95,000 voters.

Meanwhile, a post-mortem report of Dularchand Yadav released on Saturday said he died of “cardio-pulmonary failure with blunt injury to the chest and head”. Earlier, his supporters had alleged that Mr. Anant Singh’s men had run their vehicle back and forth over him, after they found he had not died after being shot in the leg. At least three FIRs were said to be lodged over the incident. In the first FIR, Mr. Anant Singh, his nephews Ranveer and Karamveer Singh and two others are named. On Saturday, two police officers were put under suspension for alleged “negligence”.

Mokama goes to poll on November 6 and the results will be announced on November 14.

Published – November 02, 2025 08:54 am IST