Bihar jails celebrate rogues' victory

March 01, 2005

Celebrations broke out in various jails of Bihar as several candidates either behind bars or out on bail emerged victorious in elections to the Bihar Assembly.

Nearly half-a-dozen candidates won the polls from behind bars in Bihar.

And true to the unfettered lifestyle that prisoners in Bihar notoriously enjoy, fellow inmates danced, distributed sweets and even opened liquor bottles to celebrate the political success of their jail mates.

They smeared each other with bright colour powders, calling early celebrations of "holi", the springtime festival of colours.

The jail at Buxar was in festive spirits on Sunday night after three of its inmates were declared winners -- Manoranjan Singh alias Dhumal Singh (Bariyarpur) and Shankar Singh (Rupauli) of the Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) and independent candidate Tarkeshwar Singh (Masrakh).

Even some jail officials were reported to have joined them in celebrating the trio's victory.

Interestingly, Shankar Singh, who reportedly heads a private militia, defeated another inmate Awadesh Mandal's wife Bima Bharti, who was the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) candidate.

Both Shankar Singh and Awadesh Mandal are named in several cases of murder, looting and kidnapping.

All three inmates-turned-legislators were shifted to the Buxar Jail two weeks ago from jails in Chapra and Purnea where the administration feared they would cause trouble during the elections.

"Yes, there were celebrations here till late night," a senior jail official told IANS over telephone.

Some inmates also rejoiced in Central Beur Jail in Patna after they heard of former cell mates winning the polls.

There was also much merry-making, singing and dancing in the Gaya Jail.

There are 54 jails in the crime-prone state that is not exactly known for prison discipline.

Others who emerged successful from behind bars are RJD's Surendra Prasad Yadav (Belaganj), LJP's Rama Singh (Mahnar) and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)'s Nityanand Rai (Hajipur).

There are over two dozen new legislators with criminal backgrounds, known as "bahubalis" for their combination of political and muscle power, Janata Dal-United (JD-U)'s Sunil Pandey and Lovely Anand, RJD's Ejazul Haque and LJP's Munna Shukla to name a few.

Their presence in the electoral arena was a matter of concern for the authorities and police but since virtually every major political party had fielded candidates with a criminal past, there was little anyone could do.

The LJP of Steel Minister Ram Vilas Paswan, which has emerged as the king maker in a fractured Assembly and could well decide who the next chief minister will be, has most winning candidates with a criminal background.

But the RJD, the JD-U and the BJP are not far behind.

But there were also criminal candidates who bit the dust, like the high profile Ranjit Don, accused of masterminding the leak of question papers for a countrywide management entrance test and is lodged in Beur Jail.

Ranjit had contested as an LJP candidate. LJP's Rajan Tiwari and JD-U's Lalan Singh were among other such losers.