Who is Anant Kumar Singh? Don-turned-politician leading in Mokama

Patna: Anant Kumar Singh, popularly known as ‘Chhote Sarkar’, is leading as the JD(U) candidate in the Mokama assembly constituency, according to early trends from the Election Commission of India (ECI). Singh, a don-turned-politician, remains in jail even as the data at 11:30 a.m. shows him ahead in the race. He was recently arrested in connection with the murder of a supporter of Prashant Kishor’s Jan Suraaj party.

Mokama, which went to the polls in the first phase of the 2025 Bihar assembly elections, recorded a voter turnout of 64.77 per cent. Singh’s wife, Neelam Devi, had previously won the seat in a 2022 by-election on an RJD ticket but later shifted her allegiance to the NDA government.

Political career and criminal past

Anant Kumar Singh is a powerful mobiliser of the Bhumihar caste vote bank and a four-time legislator, frequently embroiled in criminal cases, including murder and illegal arms possession. His political journey began with support from his elder brother, Dilip Singh, a regional strongman. Singh aligned with Nitish Kumar’s JD(U) in the early 2000s and first contested the Mokama seat in February 2005, holding it for four consecutive terms.

Ties with JD(U) later soured due to his criminal record, prompting him to contest the 2015 elections as an Independent. By 2020, he joined the RJD and reclaimed the seat. Singh faced stringent legal scrutiny, including a 2019 UAPA case and a 2022 conviction for recovery of an AK-47, which led to a 10-year prison sentence. He was acquitted in a separate Arms Act case in 2024. Despite disqualification in 2022, the JD(U) has fielded him again in 2025.

While filing his nomination papers last month, Anant Singh declared movable and immovable assets worth ₹37.88 crore. His wife, Neelam Devi, owns assets totalling ₹62.72 crore.