Patna: While political parties are divided by ideologies, one thing that’s common in them all is the patronage to Bahubalis (strongmen) politicians — especially in Bihar.
Even today, the shadow of musclemen is hovering over the politics of Bihar. Bahubalis may not contest elections, but their interference in politics has not diminished.
Musclemen are not taboo
There was a time when Bahubalis used to have a say in the politics of Bihar.
However, after the strictness of the Supreme Court and the Election Commission, the direct interference of Bahubalis in politics has stopped. However, the nexus of political parties and musclemen have found a way out.
In the new format, wives of Bahubali are being given tickets hence they continue to enjoy the power of power under this pretext.
JDU is full of 'Bahubalis'
In JDU, Bahubali Dhumal Singh is the party MLA from Baniyapur.
Apart from him, Ranvijay Singh from Aurangabad and Ajay Singh from Siwan have been contesting elections for a long time.
Not only this, JDU is also not behind in giving tickets to wives of musclemen. Lacey Singh, the wife of the late Bahubali Bootan Singh, is the party's legislator.
Apart from this, Bima Bharti, wife of Bahubali Awadhesh Mandal, is also a minister in the Bihar government. Poonam Yadav, the wife of Ranvir Yadav, Bahubali of Khagaria, is also a JDU MLA.
Kavita Singh, the wife of Sivan's Bahubali leader Ajay Singh, is also included in this list.
Bahubali Munna Shukla's wife Anu Shukla has been an MLA from Lalganj Assembly and has been contesting elections.
BJP gave tickets to wives of Bahubali
Turning to BJP, the party is not behind in giving tickets to wives of musclemen. Bhuwar Ojha's wife from Buxar got a ticket from the party and became an MLA.
LJP has strong connection with muscle power
The Lok Janshakti Party has a deep connection with musclemen. At one time, all Bahubali leaders of Bihar were in Ram Vilas Paswan's party. Today, Surajbhan Singh's wife Reena Devi is in the active politics of the party.
Chandan Singh, brother of Surjbhan Singh has been an MP twice. Apart from this, Rama Singh has also been an MP on the LJP ticket. At the moment, he is disillusioned with the LJP.
'HAM' also in the race
Hindustani Awam Morcha led by Jitan Ram Manjhi also fielded Lovely Anand, wife of Bahubali leader Anand Mohan in the last assembly election.
However, in this election, Lovely Anand has joined RJD.
Congress not far behind in giving tickets to Bahubalis
Congress is also not behind in giving tickets to Bahubalis. Siddharth, MLA from Paliganj, is also a Bahubali leader.
Apart from this, the Congress had fielded Neelam Singh, wife of Bahubali leader Anant Singh in the Lok Sabha elections, against JDU's Lalan Singh. However, she got defeated.
RJD’s old ties with musclemen
Rashtriya Janata Dal gave the ticket to Bahubali Rajaballabh Yadav. The court convicted Rajaballabh, and his membership too expired.
Hina Shahab, the wife of former MP Shahabuddin a Bahubali, has contested election several times but did not win.
Sandesh MLA Arun Yadav is also wanted in many cases registered against him. This time, Arun is preparing to field his wife in the assembly elections.
RJD argues
The Bahubalis are first chosen by the political party and then the public elects them. RJD's chief spokesperson Bhai Virendra says that no one can be stopped from contesting elections. It is the democratic right of the citizen to contest elections. But the final decision rests with the public.
Contesting elections is democratic right - HAM
The national spokesperson of Hindustani Awam Morcha Danish Rizwan said that the public decides who is Bahubali.
There is no Bahubali propped up by anyone. It is everyone’s democratic right to contest elections.
The public is very sensible - Agriculture Minister
Agriculture Minister Prem Kumar said that the public is very intelligent. The public is not going to be influenced by anyone.
Musclemen’s influence continues in politics
Political analyst Dr Sanjay Kumar said that the interference of Bahubalis in politics of Bihar has not reduced. Bahubalis themselves do not contest elections, but field their wife and enjoy power.
ADR’s concerns
ADR convenor Rajiv Kumar in Bihar is also worried about the situation. Rajiv Kumar said that political parties need to seriously follow the directives of the Supreme Court and Election Commission.
These parties leave it to the public, but Bahubalis are first selected by political parties and then the public chooses them because they have limited options.
Also Read: Confusion prevails over seat sharing in Bihar election
