'Will Win By Huge Margin': JDU Leader's Shoutout To 'Bahubali' Anant Singh

Two days after Anant Singh, a political strongman and JDU's candidate from Mokama, was arrested in a murder case, top JDU leader and Union Minister Rajiv Ranjan Singh alleged a conspiracy behind the arrest and said Anant Singh would win by a huge margin in the upcoming polls.

Rajiv Ranjan Singh, better known as Lalan Singh, is a Bhumihar leader and the Number 2 in Nitish Kumar's party. He was in Mokama today to campaign for the November 6 election. Mokama is part of the Munger constituency that he represents in the Lok Sabha.

Lalan Singh's visit to Mokama comes amid the political storm over five-time MLA and local 'Bahubali' Anant Singh's arrest in connection with the murder of gangster-turned-politician Dular Singh Yadav. Yadav had been campaigning for Jan Suraaj candidate Piyush Priyadarshi, but the party's leader, Prashant Kishor, has denied that Yadav was linked to Jan Suraaj.

Speaking to NDTV's Padmaja Joshi, Lalan Singh said several videos of the incident have circulated on social media. "The incident appears to have been orchestrated as part of a conspiracy. How did a slab found on railway tracks reach there? The investigation is underway. FIR only means First Information Report. Police will get to the bottom of this," he said.

Anant Singh is up against RJD's Veena Devi, the wife of rival 'bahubali' Suraj Bhan. Asked if Anant Singh's arrest would benefit Suraj Bhan, Lalan Singh said, "You travel through Mokama and see for yourself. Take it from me in writing, Anant Singh will win this election with a bigger margin than all his earlier wins."

Anant Singh, who has 28 criminal cases against him, has won the Mokama Assembly seat five times. He made his Assembly debut in 2005 and retained the seat for JDU in the 2010 election. In 2015, he quit the JDU after Nitish Kumar joined hands with Lalu Prasad Yadav's RJD. He contested as an Independent and trounced the JDU candidate. Before the 2020 election, Singh switched to the RJD and won again. In 2022, he was convicted in an arms case and lost his Assembly membership. His wife, Neelam Devi, contested the bye-election and retained Mokama. Singh has now switched back to JDU.

When NDTV asked Lalan Singh whether campaigning for a tainted candidate did not amount to a double standard, he replied. "This could be your perception. How can you decide who is tainted? A candidate can be arrested. I can be arrested too. Will that make me a criminal? Police will investigate. Many people are proven innocent later."

According to reports, Dular Singh Yadav suffered a bullet injury during a face-off between his supporters and Anant Singh's aides. One of the doctors who conducted the post-mortem said the bullet hit Yadav on his left leg and passed through. The doctor has also said the gunshot is not the cause of death. According to the postmortem report, Yadav died of cardiorespiratory failure due to shock caused by injury to the heart and lungs by a hard and blunt substance. Besides Anant Singh, Manikant Thakur and Ranjeet Ram have been arrested in the case.

Lalan Singh said that the bullet that hit Dular Singh Yadav could not have been fired from a distance. "The bullet can hit the heel if it is fired close by," he said. Asked if he is implying that Yadav's aides shot him, the JDU leader said, "That is a matter of investigation."

Earlier, addressing Anant Singh's supporters, Lalan Singh said he has taken charge of his election campaign. "The conspiracy will be exposed in the police investigation. No one's morale should be lowered," he said. Mokama votes in the first phase of polling on November 6. Results of the election will be declared on November 14.