‘Chhote Sarkar’ faces big challenges after expulsion from JD(U)

Mokama MLA Anant Singh enjoys an unrivalled clout in his area, and, even to some extent, in Bihar politics, but his run-in with his own party and removal for six years may spell out many troubles that he will have to come over in coming months

Mokama’s strongman and MLA Anant Kumar Singh, also known as “Chhote Sarkar” in the state politics, is now facing a bitter rapture with the Janata Dal (United). A couple of days after the party expelled him and his wife Neelam Devi, also a former MLA, for six years, the six-time legislator is now facing the risk of losing his “lawmaker” status. The party has asked the assembly speaker Prem Kumar to disqualify Singh under the Tenth Schedule for indulging in anti-party activities and defying the party’s line.

MLA from Mokama constituency Anant Singh during an interaction with the media at his residence in Patna. (Santosh Kumar/HT)

The party got prompted to act against Anant Singh after he openly campaigned for the Prashant Kishor-led Jan Suraaj Party’s candidate in the fray for Patna graduates’ constituency of the legislative council polls against the official nominee of JD(U) and sitting MLC Neeraj Kumar. Anant Singh refused to mend his ways despite appeals from senior leaders, including Union minister and Munger MP Rajiv Ranjan alias Lalan Singh and messages from the party’s top brass.

Anant Singh went to the extent of claiming that the JD(U) had been hijacked after national party president and former chief minister Nitish Kumar pushed to the margin in his own party and refused to back down. Attributing it as his personal prestige, the Mokama MLA remained defiant and campaigned against Neeraj Kumar, saying that he had objected to doling out the party symbol to sitting MLC. “Neeraj Kumar had conspired against me on several occasions and it’s time to pay him back in the same coin,” Singh had told media persons.

The expulsion came when sweets were being prepared at Singh’s residence to celebrate the victory of the Jan Suraaj candidate. A day ago, the government removed ministerial status to Neelam Devi, after throwing her out of the 20-Point Programme Implementation Panel. The building construction department (BCD) dealt another blow to Neelam Devi by asking her to vacate the official bungalow in a month, which hinted at an abrupt end to the couple’s stay in the sprawling Mall Road residence.

From crime empire to legislative bench

Anant Singh rose to politics from Mokama-Barh region. His elder brother Dilip Singh, known as “Bade Sarkar” had his dominance in the region in the 1990s and was elected as a Janata Dal MLA. Anant Singh left home young and later built a formidable local network rooted in the Mohana belt. He first tested the electoral waters in 2005 on a JD(U) ticket under Nitish Kumar regime and wrested the seat. He retained the seat in 2010 again, facing dozens of criminal cases including those of murder, attempted murder, kidnapping and under arms act. His affidavits over the years listed between 28 and 38-plus cases pending against him.

Despite the criminal records, Singh remained close to Nitish Kumar for years. The relationship frayed in 2015 when the JD(U) broke out of the NDA fold and joined the Lalu Prasad-led RJD in the Mahagathbandhan (MGB). Singh quit the JD(U) and won the seat again as an Independent.

However, he later joined the RJD, winning the 2020 assembly polls from jail. After his conviction in an arms case, he was disqualified as an MLA in 2022. He fielded his wife Neelam Devi on the RJD ticket in the by-election and won the seat, before eventually switching over to the JD(U). In 2024, Singh rejoined the JD(U) after the Patna high court acquitted him in the case. He won the Mokama seat again in 2025 from the jail. That time he was serving a jail sentence in connection with the killing of a Jan Suraaj worker.

A socio-political observer Rama Shankar Arya attributed Singh’s association with Lalu Prasad and the RJD as purely political rather than ideological. “He got associated with the Congress for a brief period, when Neelam Devi contested the 2019 Munger Lok Sabha seat on the party’s symbol against Lalan Singh, though she lost heavily. Anant, however, alleged that his political rivals, including Lalan Singh, conspired against him and used the police to settle scores.

The AK-47 episode and the officer who led the raid

The most dramatic legal incident happened with Anant Singh in August 2019, when the police recovered an AK-47, magazines, live cartridges and hand grenades from his ancestral home in Ladma under Barh police station. Earlier, the police had recovered INSAS-related material and a bulletproof jacket from his Patna residence. Additional SP Lipi Singh, who is daughter of RCP Singh, then a senior JD(U) leader close to Nitish Kumar (he later moved to the BJP) had led the raid.

The legislator had, however, cried foul in the police action, claiming that the weapons were planted as part of a larger political gameplan, hatched up by his rivals including Lalan Singh and Neeraj Kumar. He was convicted by a special court in 2022 and sentenced to 10 years jail term. He was disqualified as an MLA. In 2024, the Patna high court acquitted him, citing gaps in evidence, and also questioned the police action. Singh walked free demanding a CBI probe into Lipi Singh’s over-activism.

Real estate and the art of survival

Apart from getting a reputation in politics and the underworld, Anant Singh acquired a huge real-estate footprint in Patna and surrounding areas. He acquired dozens of plots, flats and commercial properties in prime localities. Several of these properties faced cases of violation of building bye-laws. In one notable case, the Patna municipal corporation (PMC) declared Hotel Buddha Inn, located in Patliputra Colony, illegal as it was built without proper approvals. Yet the empire largely survived through a combination of legal manoeuvres, political influence and the sheer stickiness of local power. Assets declared in his recent affidavits run into tens of crores, with Neelam Devi’s holdings often listed higher.

The latest rupture

The current fallout with the JD(U) is the sharpest, as it defied the party’s leadership. He openly supported a rival candidate in a graduates’ constituency election and thereby posed a direct challenge to organisational discipline. The party has accused Singh of disobeying the party line, using foul language against the leadership and conspiring against the official candidate in the fray. After his expulsion, the JD(U) state chief Umesh Kushwaha recommended his disqualification as an MLA under the anti-defection law. Now, uncertainty hangs over the Mokama seat, which has been treated as a family fiefdom for more than three decades.