JDU Weighs Response as Anant Singh Backs Jan Suraaj

A political dispute between JD(U) leaders Anant Singh and Neeraj Kumar has intensified ahead of the Bihar Legislative Council elections after Mokama MLA Anant Singh announced his support for Jan Suraaj candidate Anuj Kumar Singh in the Patna Graduate constituency. Neeraj Kumar, the sitting JD(U) MLC, has been renominated by the party for the seat. Singh has said he will campaign for Anuj Kumar Singh, putting him in direct opposition to his own party’s nominee. The development has drawn attention within the JD(U), with the matter now being discussed at the party’s senior leadership level.

The disagreement between Anant Singh and Neeraj Kumar predates the current MLC election. Both leaders have been associated with the Barh-Mokama region and have publicly clashed over political and personal issues for several years. Singh has alleged that Kumar was involved in a conspiracy against him linked to the recovery of prohibited weapons from his ancestral residence in 2019, an allegation Kumar has rejected. Singh has also described his current opposition to Kumar as a personal dispute. Reports said Singh plans to accompany Anuj Kumar Singh during his nomination and campaign across the Patna Graduate constituency.

The 2019 arms case has also featured in the history of the rivalry. An AK-47 rifle, ammunition and grenades were allegedly recovered from Singh’s ancestral residence in Nadawan in Patna district, following which he was convicted by a trial court. However, the Patna High Court set aside the conviction in August 2024 and acquitted Singh, ruling that the prosecution had not established the case against him to the required standard. The High Court’s judgment quashed the earlier conviction and directed that Singh be released if he was not required in any other case.

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The current contest is for a Graduate constituency seat in the Bihar Legislative Council, where voting is conducted through the preferential voting system rather than the conventional first-past-the-post method used in Lok Sabha and Assembly elections. The Election Commission has scheduled polling for October 23, with counting on October 27. The Bihar election schedule covers eight Legislative Council seats, including four Graduate and four Teacher constituencies. JD(U) has nominated Neeraj Kumar for the Patna Graduate seat, while Jan Suraaj has fielded Anuj Kumar Singh.

The issue has now moved beyond the personal disagreement between the two leaders and into the JD(U)’s organisational sphere. Bihar minister and senior JD(U) leader Shravan Kumar said the matter is known to senior party leaders and that it would be addressed at an appropriate time. Other reports said the party leadership is considering the situation after Anant Singh’s decision to campaign against the JD(U) nominee. The party has not announced a final disciplinary action against Singh, and any decision on that matter would rest with the JD(U) leadership.

For Anant Singh, the Patna Graduate election has become another point of confrontation with Neeraj Kumar, while Jan Suraaj’s Anuj Kumar Singh has gained attention from the public backing of a sitting JD(U) MLA. For the JD(U), the immediate issue is how to respond to a party legislator campaigning for a rival candidate while maintaining its organisational position in the election. The polling is scheduled for October 23, but the political focus in the run-up to the contest is now also on the response from Nitish Kumar and the JD(U) leadership to Singh’s decision.

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