Munger (Incumbent: Rajiv Ranjan Singh Alias Lalan Singh - JD(U))
In Bihar's Munger, the Lok Sabha election is a fight between former JD(U) president Rajiv Ranjan Singh Alias Lalan Singh and RJD's Anita Devi Mahto. Anita Devi is the wife of convicted bahubali Ashok Mahto and is said to be a proxy candidate for him.
Mahto, a dreaded gangster, is known for political ambitions and a strident anti-upper caste stance. However, conviction in a criminal case has disqualified him from contesting polls. A widower in his 60s, Mahto tied the knot with Anita two months ago, reportedly upon advice from RJD president Lalu Prasad.
The muscle power that Mahto brings to the table seems to have caused some consternation in the NDA camp, though the PM had held a rally in the constituency. A controversy was stoked with the release, on parole, of Anant Singh, a UAPA convict, whose wife Neelam Devi is the MLA from Mokama, falling under Munger Lok Sabha seat, and had crossed over from RJD to JD (U) when the NDA government in Bihar won a trust vote in February.
Since walking out of jail, Anant Singh has been holding court at his residence, predicting before supporters and media a massive win for Lalan, whom his wife had challenged in 2019 as the Congress candidate.
2024 polls: The total number of registered voters in this constituency in 2024 polls was 2042279, and the seat saw a voting turnout of 55.55% (1134548 total count of votes), according to the Election Commission’s data released on May 25, 2024. The seat went to polls in phase 4 on May 13, 2024.
In the 2019 LS Polls,
Lalan Singh of JD(U) won from Munger, getting 528,762 votes, comprising 51.03% of the total number of votes polled. Lalan Singh defeated Nilam Devi of INC by a margin of 167937 votes. In 2014, Veena Devi of LJP had won from this seat, polling 352,911 votes (38.60%) and defeating Lalan Singh by a margin of 1,09,084 votes.
