JD(U) Expels Mokama MLA Anant Singh and Wife Neelam Devi for Six Years

The Janata Dal (United) expelled its Mokama MLA Anant Kumar Singh and his wife, former MLA Neelam Devi, from the party for six years on Saturday, cancelling their primary membership with immediate effect. JD(U) state president Umesh Singh Kushwaha announced the action in Patna, citing anti-party activities during the recent Bihar Legislative Council elections.

The party order said Singh had repeatedly ignored party directives, used derogatory language against the senior leadership, and campaigned against the party's own candidate. Singh openly opposed Neeraj Kumar, the JD(U) candidate in the Patna Graduates' constituency, and campaigned instead for Anuj Singh, the candidate of Prashant Kishor's Jan Suraaj Party. Neelam Devi was expelled over her alleged involvement in the same anti-party activities.

The JD(U) has also written to the Speaker of the Bihar Legislative Assembly, Prem Kumar, recommending that Singh be disqualified as an MLA under the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution, the anti-defection provision. Expulsion from a party does not by itself remove a legislator from the Assembly. The decision on disqualification rests with the Speaker, and it can be challenged in court.

Why it matters

The JD(U) is Bihar's ruling party, and the expulsion removes one of its most prominent strongman legislators in the middle of a public feud. The fight was not private. Singh backed the Jan Suraaj candidate in public, joined his roadshow and accompanied him when he filed his nomination in Patna on October 1, then held a large roadshow for him in Mokama on October 18. Senior party leaders, including Union Minister Lallan Singh, tried to settle the dispute and failed, according to India Today reporting carried by News89.

The context

Singh and Neeraj Kumar are long-time rivals from Mokama. Their contest goes back to the 2015 Bihar Assembly election, when Singh, running as an Independent, defeated Kumar, who was then the JD(U) candidate. Singh won the Mokama seat again in the 2025 Assembly elections, defeating Veena Devi of the RJD by 28,206 votes. Kumar is the JD(U)'s chief spokesperson and a sitting member of the Legislative Council who was seeking another term from the Patna Graduates' constituency, which put the two men in direct conflict again.

What happens next

Three questions now decide Singh's future. The first is whether the Speaker acts on the disqualification recommendation, and how fast. The second is whether Singh challenges the expulsion or any disqualification in court. The third is political: whether Singh, who has won Mokama as an Independent before, rebuilds his base outside the JD(U) or finds a new party home before the next election cycle. For the JD(U), the test is whether removing a sitting MLA strengthens discipline inside the party or hands a rival camp a ready-made local organisation in Mokama.

Key numbers

• Six years: the length of the expulsion for both Anant Singh and Neelam Devi
• 28,206 votes: Singh's winning margin in Mokama in the 2025 Assembly election
• October 1, 2026: the day Singh joined the Jan Suraaj candidate's nomination roadshow in Patna
• October 18, 2026: Singh's roadshow for the rival candidate in Mokama