All Eyes On Siwan As Dons’ Wives Fight It Out

Siwan Parliamentary seat will remain at the centre of attention when it goes to the polls in the sixth phase of Lok Sabha elections on May 12. The seat has traditionally been the stronghold of RJD muscleman Mohammad Shahabuddin, who is serving a jail term after his conviction in a murder case. But what has generated curiosity about this seat even outside Bihar is that the wives of two dons have locked horns to wrest this Parliamentary constituency.

The RJD has fielded Shahabuddin’s wife Hina Sahab against NDA candidate Kavita Singh. Kavita is the wife of dreaded don Ajay Singh, who is an accused in several criminal cases.

While both have raised the tempest high in the battlefield, let’s take a look at the other wives who have contested earlier elections as dummy candidates for their husbands. They seem to have given a new order to politics in Bihar.

Veena Devi: Wife of Surajbhan Singh, another don who has been a three-time MP on an LJP ticket. Veena is pitted against RJD’s heavyweight candidate Raghuvansh Prasad Singh in Vaishali.

Annu Shukla: She is the wife of Vijay Kumar, alias Munna Shukla. He is facing over a dozen cases of murder, kidnapping and extortion and was also convicted for the murder of a minister, Brij Bihari Prasad. Annu had contested the last LS polls as an Independent candidate from the Vaishali seat.

Ranjeeta Ranjan: She is the wife of well-known don Pappu Yadav. Pappu recently joined the RJD. His wife, Ranjeeta Ranjan is contesting from Supaul constituency, adjoining Khagari on a Congress ticket.

Lovely Anand: She is the wife of former MP Anand Mohan, convicted for the murder of former Gopalganj district magistrate, G Krishnaiah. Lovely is contesting from Sheohar on a Samajwadi Party ticket.

Krishna Yadav: She is the wife of another well-known don, Ranveer Yadav. He is an accused in the 1985 Lakshmipur-Taufir Diara carnage in which nine people were killed. Krishna is contesting the elections on a CPI ticket from the Khagaria seat.