With Lok Sabha Election 2024 approaching, the political circles in Bihar are buzzing with the hurried wedding of convicted criminal from Nawada district, Ashok Mahto. In an attempt to gain political influence, sixty-year-old Mahto, who cannot run for office himself due to his release last year after spending 17 years in jail for a 2001 Nawada jailbreak case, married 46-year-old Kumari Anita on Tuesday.
The influential figure is seeking an RJD ticket for a family member to challenge JD(U) heavyweight Rajiv Ranjan alias Lalan Singh from Munger Lok Sabha seat. Mahto himself is ineligible for a ticket as the law prohibits convicted criminals from running for office for six years after serving their sentence.
He and his new wife met with RJD chief Lalu Prasad in Patna on Wednesday to receive his blessings. However, it remains to be seen if Mahto’s wife will enter the political arena, as Mahto mentioned to reporters after the meeting that Lalu did not provide any “assurance” regarding the party ticket.
Who is Ashok Mahto?
Ashok Mahto, a well-known criminal gang leader in Bihar, was released from a Bihar jail after serving 17 years. Mahto was involved in various cases, including the Nawada Jailbreak, the murder of P Raju Singh massacre in Sheikhpura’s Manipur, and the Apsardh and BDPO murders in Nawada. He was released on December 10, 2023.
Mahto gained attention in 2022 following the release of a web series titled Khakee: The Bihar Chapter. Based on a book by IPS officer Amit Lodha, the series supposedly depicts the story of Mahto’s criminal gang.
All About Mahto’s New Bride Anita
Anita (46) is the daughter of Hari Mehta, a resident of the Bansipur Hemjapur area in Lakhisarai’s Suryagarha block. She works at a private firm in Delhi, and her father, Hari Prasad Sahni, was a PWD engineer. Anita married Mahto at Karauta Jagdamba Mandir in Bakhtiyarpur, Patna, on Tuesday night.
Anita Samsabar belongs to the Kurmi community, while Ashok Mahto is from the Dhanuk Kurmi community.
History Of Bahubali Wives In Bihar
Mahto’s rushed wedding during the election season is not an isolated incident, as another ‘Bahubali’ named Ajay Singh previously married during the inauspicious ‘Pitrapaksha’ period. Chief Minister Nitish Kumar had refused to provide him with a JD(U) ticket for a by-election in Daunda due to his criminal background.
In the 2011 by-election in Daunda, which was held after the death of MLA Jagmato Devi, Singh’s mother, Ajay faced multiple criminal charges, leading to JD-U’s hesitation in allowing him to contest. He eventually married Kavita Singh, who won the by-election on the JD(U) ticket and later became an MP from Siwan in the 2019 Lok Sabha election, defeating Hina Sahab, the wife of convicted don and four-time MP Mohammad Shahabuddin.
Guns and criminals have played a significant role in Bihar’s political landscape, with musclemen politicians like Mohammad Shahabuddin, Anand Mohan Singh, Anant Singh, Pappu Yadav, and Surajbham rising to power.
However, as many of them faced convictions, they shifted to ruling through proxies. This shift resulted in the emergence of a new breed of politicians in the state, known as the relatives of Bahubalis, often their wives, and sometimes their brothers and sons.
In the Maharajganj Lok Sabha constituency in 2029, a battle between two Rajputs took place. BJP’s Janardan Singh Sigriwal competed against RJD’s Randhir Singh, the son of Bahubali and former Parliamentarian Prabhunath Singh, who has been convicted in a murder case.
Meanwhile, in the Munger constituency, Congress nominated Anant Singh’s wife Neelam Devi. Singh, known as “Chhote Sarkar” in Munger, has attracted media attention for his fashion choices and love for horse riding.
The Nawada seat also witnessed a proxy battle, with RJD’s Vibha Devi, the wife of the former RJD MLA and strongman Raj Ballabh Prasad (incarcerated for raping a minor girl), competing against LJP’s Chandan Kumar, the brother of strongman Suraj Bhan Singh.