PATNA: Don-turned-politician Anant Singh touched the feet of Bihar chief minister and JD(U) supremo Nitish Kumar soon after taking oath as a member in the state legislative assembly on Tuesday, creating a flutter in the State’s political circles.
Nitish, in turn, congratulated him for being inducted as a member of the House again.
Interestingly, the Chief Minister had reportedly asked him about the tilak on his forehead before he returned to his seat as members looked on.
Anant was administered the oath of office by Assembly Speaker Prem Kumar. Earlier, he was escorted to the Bihar assembly from the Beur central jail in Patna under tight security arrangements.
He was allowed to besworn inn as a member of the House on parole. He was brought to the assembly premises in a prison vehicle.
Singh was elected as MLA from Mokama on the JD(U) ticket in the 2025 assembly election. He could not take the oath as he was in prison in connection with the killing of Dular Chand Yadav, a rival gangster, who was lending his support to a Jan Suraaj Party candidate in the election.
Singh was arrested, and he could not take the oath as he was not granted bail earlier.
Dular Chand was killed during the election campaign in the Mokama assembly constituency, from where Anant was contesting as a JD(U) candidate.
He won the seat by defeating RJD’s Veena Devi by 63,210 votes.
The seat was earlier held by his wife Neelam Devi, who won in the 2020 assembly polls as an RJD candidate. Neelam Devi shifted her loyalty towards CM Nitish Kumar during the vote of trust in the assembly in 2024 when Nitish switched sides and joined hands with the BJP to form a new NDA government in the state.
Today, Anant Singh briefly talked to the media before boarding the prison vehicle. Authoritative sources said that the Patna Civil Court had granted Anant Singh permission solely for taking the oath. He returned to the Beur Central Jail as soon as the Assembly proceedings concluded.
His appearance in the House was allowed only as a constitutional necessity, since Article 188 mandates an oath for an MLA to participate in the proceedings. Article 193 prohibits functioning without it.
After taking the oath, Singh told the media, “I am innocent, I will get justice...”