Anant Kumar Singh, the flamboyant JD(U) candidate from Mokama and a notorious 'Bahubali' figure in Bihar politics, was arrested late Saturday night in connection with the murder of rival gangster-turned-politician Dular Chand Yadav. Known for his signature white attire, sunglasses, and cult-like social media following—where his quips fuel viral reels and memes—Singh has long dominated the constituency less than 100 km from Patna. Despite his arrest, Singh remains the party's nominee for the upcoming Bihar Assembly elections, highlighting the persistent criminal underbelly of the state's political landscape.

Singh's rap sheet is as extensive as his influence. His recent nomination affidavit reveals 28 pending cases, including charges of murder, criminal conspiracy, torture, kidnapping, assault, theft, harboring criminals, and multiple arms violations. Despite the allegations, his wealth is staggering: movable assets worth Rs 13 crore, including a Rs 2 crore Toyota Land Cruiser and a Toyota Fortuner SUV, plus an elephant, horse, and cattle. Combined with immovable properties, his total assets reach Rs 37.88 crore, while his wife, Neelam Devi—the sitting RJD MLA from Mokama—boasts Rs 62.72 crore. This opulence stands in stark contrast to the violence that has shadowed his career.

For two decades, Singh has been the unchallenged 'sarkar' of Mokama, a Bhumihar strongman who debuted in the Bihar Assembly in 2005 on a JD(U) ticket and retained the seat in 2010. He bolted from JD(U) in 2015 over Nitish Kumar's alliance with Lalu Prasad Yadav's RJD, winning as an Independent. Switching to RJD in 2020, he triumphed again amid shifting alliances. A 2022 arms conviction stripped his membership, prompting Neelam Devi's bye-election win for RJD. Now back with JD(U), Singh's electoral invincibility persists—party labels change, but victories do not—until this arrest threatens to upend it all.

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The trigger for Singh's latest downfall was the October 30 death of Dular Chand Yadav, a 1990s-era gangster and long-time Singh rival, who was campaigning for Jan Suraaj Party candidate Piyush Priyadarshi—his nephew—in Basavanchak village, Mokama. A post-mortem revealed Yadav succumbed to cardiorespiratory failure from shock due to heart and lung injuries inflicted by a hard, blunt object, ruling out initial reports of a fatal gunshot (though an ankle wound was noted). Police arrested Singh alongside associates Manikant Thakur and Ranjeet Ram, following an altercation where Singh's supporters clashed with Yadav's group, amid vehicle vandalism claims.

Singh vehemently denies involvement, insisting he was "far away" from the scene and pointing fingers at rival strongman Suraj Bhan—whose wife, Veena Devi, is the RJD candidate from Mokama. "Yadav's henchmen vandalized our vehicles," Singh claimed, alleging a conspiracy to tarnish his name. Jan Suraaj chief Prashant Kishor distanced his party from Yadav, while the Election Commission responded swiftly, suspending officers and transferring the local SP amid four FIRs, including one naming Singh and four others. With Bihar's first-phase polls on November 6, this arrest has ignited caste tensions, political finger-pointing, and fears of further violence in a constituency already scarred by decades of strongman rule.

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