‘IF ANANT SINGH IS A CRIMINAL, IS ANAND MOHAN A SAINT?: R K SINGH

‘IF ANANT SINGH IS A CRIMINAL, IS ANAND MOHAN A SAINT?: R K SINGH

30-OCT-ENG 27

RAJIV NAYAN AGRAWAL

ARA------------------------------RK Singh's Facebook post has sparked a controversy. At the center of this political turmoil are two powerful castes in Bihar: the Bhumihars and Rajputs. The Koeri caste also constitutes a third of the core. This post has sparked controversy. Some say RK Singh wants to break the unity of the Bhumihars and Rajputs. Alakh Pandey, a resident of Nagari village in Bhojpur district, practices law in Ara. He is on his way to his village for Chhath Puja. The Ara-Sasaram passenger train is moving at a brisk pace. Meanwhile, he says, "Attempts are being made to harm the NDA by breaking the unity of the Rajputs and Bhumihars during the assembly elections. RK Singh is distraught due to his political exile and wants to harm the NDA." Former Ara MP Raj Kumar Singh (RK Singh) wants to break the Rajput-Bhumihar unity. In the Lok Sabha elections, Pawan Singh broke the Rajput-Koeri alliance, causing a significant loss for the NDA. The gentleman sitting next to Alakh Pandey asks, "Sorry, I shouldn't ask this, but I have to. Are you a Bhumihar?" Alakh Pandey replies, "Yes! Do you have any objections?" The gentleman asks, "No! No! You've directly raised the Rajput-Bhumihar issue? What did you say?" Alakh Pandey says, "My village is dominated by Bhumihars. We've all been voting for Rajkumar Singh since 2014. We did so this time too. But he lost. He lost because of his own tactics. After becoming a minister, he started treating him like a king. He stopped socializing with people. His speech is always bitter. The Bhumihar population in the Ara Lok Sabha constituency is certainly large enough to defeat anyone." He used to go from village to village to get the votes of Bhumihars, and now he is using abusive language (chased out) against them. What exactly happened? To this question, Alakh Pandey says, RK Singh called former Mokama MLA Anant Singh (a Bhumihar) a criminal, but said nothing about Anand Mohan Singh, who belongs to his own caste. He says not to vote for candidates with criminal backgrounds. If this is the case, should Anand Mohan's son, Chetan Anand, who is contesting from Nabinagar, be voted for? If Anant Singh faces serious charges, shouldn't Anand Mohan face them? Anand Mohan was sentenced to life imprisonment and later released from jail. Why didn't RK Singh say anything about him? Meaning, the Bhumihar candidate appears to be a criminal, while the candidate from his own caste has become a saint. If Anant Singh is a don, is Anand Mohan a saint? The unity of the Bhumihars and Rajputs once shook the Lalu Prasad Yadav government, and now RK Singh wants to create a rift? Then a question arises: will the NDA face another setback in Bhojpur, Rohtas, and Buxar? Alakh Pandey says, "The BJP has fielded Sanjay Tiger, a Rajput, from Ara. It's well known that Bhumihars vote for the BJP. But after R.K. Singh's statement, there's resentment among the Bhumihars. If this isn't addressed, anything could happen. In 1994, Rajputs, Bhumihars, and Kurmis united for the first time to defeat Lalu Yadav." Alakh pauses and adds, "In 1994, there was a by-election for the Vaishali Lok Sabha. In this election, Anand Mohan's wife, Lovely Anand, ran against Lalu Yadav's candidate, Kishori Sinha. Kishori Sinha was also a Rajput, and Lalu Yadav's influence was also involved. At that time, a fierce battle was raging between the upper castes and the backward castes due to the Mandal reservation. Rajputs and Bhumihars, forgetting their age-old rivalry, united for the first time. Defeating Lalu Yadav became the primary goal. Meanwhile, Nitish Kumar also began feuding with Lalu Yadav." This angered even the Kurmis against Lalu Yadav. When the by-elections were held, the unity of Rajputs, Bhumihars, and Kurmis worked wonders. Kishori Sinha, the powerful Lalu Yadav candidate, lost. Lovely Anand won. This marked the beginning of a new chapter in Rajput-Bhumihar unity. As Alakh Pandey finished his speech, a third passenger said, "It's not like that. The assembly elections won't be as one-sided as the Lok Sabha elections. There will be a tough contest." Alakh Pandey replied, "R.K. Singh has left no room for this. He has made statements against not only Anant Singh but also the JDU candidate from Jagdishpur, Shri Bhagwan Singh Kushwaha." The Koeri caste (Kushwaha) is a deciding factor in Bhojpur. Rajaram Singh, the CPI(ML) MP who won from Karakat, belongs to the Kushwaha caste. Ajit Singh, the CPI(ML) MLA from Dumraon, also belongs to the Kushwaha caste. In Bhojpur-Rohtas, the Kushwaha community is considered a CPI(ML) voter base." JDU's Shri Bhagwan Singh also belongs to the Kushwaha caste. If RK Singh's statement angers the Kushwaha community, the NDA could suffer significant losses. Time passed unnoticed during this conversation. The election debate ended as the Ara-Sasaram passenger train was about to arrive at Nagari station. Alakh Pandey began packing his luggage. As he disembarked, Chhath Puja songs began to echo from the Arghya Ghat being built on the banks of the canal.