Bihar: Contrary to Nitish's ‘Rule of Law’, 53% Newly Elected MLAs Have Criminal Cases

Patna: Jailed Bahubali (strongman) Anant Singh, who is a newly elected ruling Janata Dal-United (JD-U) MLA from Mokama, is not alone in facing serious criminal cases.  As many as 130 of the 243 newly elected MLAs in the new Bihar Assembly have criminal cases against them.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) swept the Assembly polls with BJP winning 89 seats and emerging as the single largest party for the first time, followed by its major ally JD-U with 85 seats and other allies LJP(R) 19 seats, Hindustan Awam Morcha (HAM) five seats and Rashtriya Lok Morcha (RLM) four seats. This unexpected landslide victory has been termed as ‘tsunami’ to a ‘miracle’. The  Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD)- led Opposition Mahagathbandhan reduced to 35 seats only.

‘Rule of law’ has been NDA’s old tag in Bihar to counter the “jungle raj” of the previous government-led by RJD chief Lalu Prasad and his wife Rabri Devi from 1990 to 2005. But the Nitish-led NDA in Bihar has many faces among newly elected MLAs who have an image contrary to his ‘rule of law’.

Anant Singh is a champion of incumbent Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, who is projected as ‘sushashan babu’ (clean governance) by his party JD-U, whose new MLA is none other than Anant Singh. During the election campaign last month, Anant Singh had announced that he would quit as MLA if Nitish Kumar is not made the next Chief Minister. He made this statement before he was arrested  on October 31 night in connection with murder of Dularchand Yadav on October 30 during the election campaign.

The Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), in its latest report, has revealed that a total 28 serious crime cases under Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Bharatiya Nyaya Samhita (BNS) are pending against Anant Singh. The report said he faces six charges related to attempt to murder (IPC Section-307), two charges related to kidnapping or abducting in order to murder (IPC Section-364) and two charges related to extortion by putting a person in fear of death or grievous hurt (IPC Section-386).
Minutes after being released from Patna jail on August 6, 2025, an outspoken Anant Singh, once a gangster, loudly claimed to contest the polls from his traditional stronghold Mokama on  a JD-U ticket. Popularly known as ‘Chhote Sarkar’, he won the Mokama seat from jail in the 2020 Assembly polls as an RJD candidate. Before that, he won as an Independent candidate in 2015 and on a JD-U ticket in 2010 and 2005.

In 2022, when he was convicted and disqualified as an MLA and debarred from contesting polls, his wife Neelam Devi contested and won the bypoll as an RJD candidate. But after Nitish re-joined hands with the BJP-led NDA on January 28, 2024, and formed the government, Anant's wife, an RJD MLA, also changed sides and voted for Nitish in the trust vote in February 2024.

Anant, who belongs to the powerful Bhumihar upper caste, was sentenced to 10 years' imprisonment in a case related to the recovery of arms and ammunition, including an AK-47 assault rifle, from his house in 2019, under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA).

Another newly elected JD-U MLA, Amrendar Kumar Pandey from Kuchaikot seat, faces 14 serious criminal cases. 

Nitish's JD-U’s newly elected MLAs include another Bahubali, Dhumal Singh from Ekma seat. Besides, Chetan Anand, the elder son of dreaded bahubali Anand Mohan Singh, (imprisoned for killing IAS officer G Krishnaiah) is another newly elected JD-U MLA from Nabinagar seat. Vibha Devi, wife of Bahubali Rajbhallabh Yadav and bahubali Radha Charan Seth won from the Sandesh seat.

Former MP Anand Mohan was convicted and sentenced to life for lynching district magistrate Krishnaiah in the mid-90s in Bihar. It was one of the heart-wrenching examples of ‘jungle raj’. His death sentence was commuted to life imprisonment by the Patna High Court.

Anand Mohan was released in April 2023 after 16 years in jail. His release was possible after Nitish’s government amended the prison rules. His son Chetan Anand won the 2020 Assembly polls on an RJD ticket, but also changed sides and voted for Nitish in the trust vote in February 2024. This time he was a JD(U) nominee.

The BJP’s newly elected MLA Vishal Parshant Pandey, son of Sunil Pandey, a criminal-turned-politician and a bahubali, won from Tarari Assembly seat in Bhojpur. Pandey was sentenced to life imprisonment for kidnapping a reputed neurosurgeon Ramesh Chandra in Patna in 2003. Sunil Pandey was then MLA of Samta Party that was founded by Nitish Kumar in 1994.

As per ADR, over 50% newly elected MLAs in Bihar have criminal cases against them. It analysed affidavits of all 243 winning candidates of the Bihar Assembly polls.

“Out of the 243 winning candidates analysed in 2025 130 (53%) winning candidates have declared criminal cases against themselves,” said the ADR report.

There are 102 (42%) winning candidates who have declared serious criminal cases against themselves.

About 54 (61%) out of 89 winning candidates with criminal cases are from BJP, 31 (36%) out of 85 winning candidates from JD(U), 18 (72%) out of 25 winning candidates from RJD, 11 (58%) out of 19 winning candidates from Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas), 4(67%) out of 6 winning candidates from INC, 5(100%).

Similarly, five winning candidates from AIMIM, 1 (20%) out of 5 winning candidates from HAM(S), 1(25%) out of 4 winning candidates from Rashtriya Lok Morcha, 2(100%) out of 2 winning candidates from CPI(ML)(L), 1(100%) out of 1 winning candidate from CPI(M), 1(100%) out of 1 winning candidate from Indian Inclusive Party and 1 (100%) out of 1 winning candidate from BSP have declared criminal cases against themselves in their affidavits, according to ADR.

Interestingly, only two known bahubalis’ wife and son are newly elected MLAs of the Opposition RJD. Aneeta Devi, wife of bahubali Ashok Mahto, won from Warsaliganj seat and Osama Sahab, son of dreaded bahubali Mohammad Shahabuddin, won from Raghunathpur seat. 

 ADR said out of 241 new MLAs analysed during Bihar Assembly elections in 2020, 163 (68%) MLAs had declared criminal cases against themselves.