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The fight over Legislative Council seats has always been interesting in the politics of Bihar, but this time the election of Patna Graduate Constituency is becoming a thorn in the neck for the ruling party Janata Dal (United). The situation has become such that in the political circles, that old and scary political equation of the year 2002 has started being discussed again, when the NDA had to suffer huge losses due to the resentment of its own people and infighting. This time, the sharp attitude of Mokama’s strong MLA and JDU leader Anant Singh has created panic within the party. The party’s chief spokesperson and current MLC Neeraj Kumar is trying to win the election from this seat once again, but the biggest obstacle in his path is not any opposition party but the opposition rising from within his own party. Realizing the urgency of the situation, the party leadership has become fully active and a series of rapid meetings has started to stop this infighting.
What is the threat of 2002 that is scaring JDU strategists?
If we look at the political history of Bihar, the election of Patna graduate constituency in the year 2002 is considered to be the biggest example of infighting and rebellion. At that time, Neeraj Kumar was in the fray as an NDA-supported candidate, but due to ticket distribution and internal tussle within the party, senior leader Ramesh Prasad Singh rebelled and ran as an independent candidate. In that triangular contest, there was huge polarization and fragmentation of upper caste votes, which directly benefited the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) candidate and he won the election, while the strong NDA supported forces were left behind. Today, at this election juncture of the year 2026, the danger of repeating exactly the same history is looming. Even at present, the equations seem to be getting complicated where the displeasure of loved ones can prove to be a big headache for the party.
Anant Singh’s rebellious attitude and new bet of support to Dr. Anuj Singh
This time the controversy started when Mokama MLA Anant Singh, during a public relations event in Barh area, announced his open support to Dr. Anuj Singh as an independent or alternative face in the upcoming MLC elections, contrary to the party’s declared or possible authorized bid. After this announcement of Anant Singh, tremendous enthusiasm was seen among his supporters and the message was sent that the contest will turn in the direction on which the ‘small government’ is standing. However, to maintain discipline and coordination within the party, the top leadership immediately intervened and an attempt was made to damage control by calling Anant Singh to the party office in Patna. During the meeting, although an attempt was made to show that everything is normal and mutual differences have been resolved through talks, political analysts believe that even though the table talk may have calmed down the matter on the surface, the internal differences and bitterness have still not completely ended.
Damage control within the party and activation of top leadership
Sensing this danger of rebellion, JDU has put in all its strength and senior leaders and ministers of the party have taken charge. To ensure the party’s victory on this prestigious seat of Patna Graduate Constituency, a high-level review meeting was organized in the state office, in which all the MLAs, MLCs and key strategists associated with the area participated. All the party stalwarts are trying to ensure that any kind of personal dissatisfaction is not allowed to influence the election results. The leaders also believe that if a powerful regional satrap like Anant Singh is not completely satisfied, then a wrong message can be sent even among the well-educated voters of the graduate constituency, the direct impact of which can be seen on the day of voting.
The complex equation and electoral future of the graduate constituency
Graduate constituencies are completely different from general elections, where personal contacts, grassroots networks and managerial skills are needed most, rather than political rallies and fanfare. Every vote has value on this seat because the voters are not the general public but young people with degrees and professionals. In such a situation, if this conflict and infighting within the party is not calmed down in time, then it can become a big political challenge for the ruling party. At present, everyone’s eyes, from the top level of the party to the field workers, are fixed on whether this political rivalry stops completely in the coming days or whether the tone of rebellion completely spoils the party’s mathematics at the time of elections.