'Singhams' Of Bihar, Assam Police Set To Contest Bihar Assembly Election

Two ex-police officers are set to contest the Bihar election that begins next week.

One is Shivdeep Lande, an independent candidate from Jamalpur in Munger district, and the other is Anand Mishra, the Bharatiya Janata Party nominee for the Buxar seat.

Lande and Mishra have three similarities.

First, both have been dubbed 'singham', or 'lion', by their now-former colleagues for being 'super cops'. Lande has been called Bihar's 'singham' and Mishra received the same title, but in Assam.

The second, of course, is that both entered politics after resigning from the police force.

The third is that their wives are businesswomen.

Who is Shivdeep Lande?

Lande, 49, is from the Vidarbha region in Maharashtra's Akola district.

He comes from a farming family and is married to Mamta Shivtare, the daughter of ex-Maharashtra Water Resources and Conservation Minister Vijay Shivtare.

Lande is a 2006-batch IPS officer who was previously also selected for the IRS, and has a degree in Electrical Engineering. His home today is Bankipur, a suburb of Patna.

He resigned last year when he was Inspector-General of Purnia district, after having served as the Deputy Inspector-General of Tirhut and also in the Munger and Araria districts. He became popular while Superintendent of Police in Patna, when he acted against roadside harassment.

After resigning on September 19, he formed a party called Hindu Sena in March this year, and announced his intention to contest the Bihar election.

Shivdeep Lande and his wife, Mamta Lande.

Based on his declarations, Lande has no criminal cases against him and has assets worth Rs 20.74 lakh, complemented by an annual income of Rs 26.8 lakh.

His wife, Mamta, is the moneybags of the family. A businessperson, she has claimed movable and immovable assets worth Rs 20.5 crore, which includes a Land Cruiser SUV worth Rs 60 lakh, a Mahindra Scorpio SUV worth Rs 29 lakh, 100 grams of gold, and shares in various banks.

In addition, she also owns two flats – one in Marine Lines in Mumbai and the other in an upscale housing estate in Pune – and 17 acres of land. She also has outstanding loans of Rs 2.7 crore, including a Rs 70 lakh car loan and a Rs 2.5 crore housing loan. The family's daughter, Arha Shivdeep Lande, meanwhile, has Rs 14.8 lakh in assets.

Who is Anand Mishra?

Mishra is from Jigna in Bihar's Buxar district, though his family is from Bhojpur district.

His father, Paramhans Mishra, was a Hindustan Motors employee in Kolkata.

Mishra studied in Kolkata and graduated with a degree in Political Science from St Xavier's College. He also has a Masters in Police Management from Hyderabad's Osmania University.

Mishra, 44, belonged to the Assam cadre and has a reputation as an 'encounter specialist'. While posted in Nagaon district, he acted against drug mafia and criminal gangs.

Anand Mishra and his wife, Archana Tiwari.

He has received the President's Medal for Gallantry and the Chief Minister's Award for Exceptional Service, and also the Internal Security Service Medal from the Union Home Ministry.

He quit the force in January last year and contested the Lok Sabha election from Bihar; he wanted to do as a BJP candidate but did not get the ticket, and so contested solo.

He picked up only 47,000 votes; the seat was won by the Rashtriya Janata Dal's Sudhakar Singh with over 4.38 lakh votes. After that loss he briefly joined forces with poll strategist Prashant Kishore and helped found the Jan Suraaj, which will make its electoral debut in this election.

But the 'super cop', a Royal Enfield enthusiast, quit in May and joined the BJP in August.

Unlike Lande, he does face a case. This was filed at the Gandhi Maidan Police Station in Patna for participating in the BPSC (Bihar Public Service Commission) student protest.

He has assets worth Rs 2.5 crore, including movable assets of Rs 60 lakh. This includes 100 grams of gold and a Royal Enfield motorcycle worth Rs 2.51 lakh, and also a house in Hooghly in Bengal that is valued at Rs 60 lakh.

His wife, Archana Tiwari, has movable assets worth Rs 88.4 lakh and immovable assets worth Rs 17 lakh. According to Mishra's affidavit, his annual income for 2024/25 is projected to be Rs 1.85 lakh, while his wife, Archana, is set to earn over Rs 12 lakh.