Representative image. Itcell.bla, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
Why it matters
Mokama's voters could lose their MLA mid-term if the Speaker accepts the JD(U)'s request, which would force a bypoll. The case also tests how the anti-defection law treats a member who campaigns against his own party outside the Assembly.
Anant Singh expelled: the Janata Dal (United), or JD(U), on Saturday, 24 October 2026 cancelled the party membership of its Mokama MLA, Anant Kumar Singh, and barred him for six years. The party also asked Bihar Assembly Speaker Prem Kumar to end his membership of the House under the anti-defection law, a day after the Bihar Legislative Council polls in which he campaigned against the JD(U)’s own candidate.
His wife, former MLA Neelam Devi, was expelled for six years in the same order, which takes effect immediately. The action was taken on the orders of Bihar JD(U) president Umesh Singh Kushwaha, according to the party’s statement on X, which The Hindu reproduced in full.
Anant Singh expelled: the three reasons the JD(U) gave
The statement lists three reasons. It says the Mokama MLA had kept defying party instructions for several days, used insulting language about the party’s top leaders, and worked against the JD(U) candidate in the council election while campaigning for another party’s nominee.
The contest at the centre of the row is the Patna Graduates’ seat in the Legislative Council, the upper house of the Bihar legislature. Graduates registered as voters in the area elect this member, not the general public. The JD(U) fielded Neeraj Kumar, a former minister and a close aide of party president Nitish Kumar, who is seeking a fourth straight term from the seat, the news agency Press Trust of India (PTI) reported. Anant Singh backed Anuj Singh of the Jan Suraaj Party (JSP), the party founded by Prashant Kishor.
The statement asks the Speaker to cancel his Assembly membership “under the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution”, in the English version quoted by the Hindustan Times. The Tenth Schedule is the part of the Constitution that sets out when a lawmaker who defects can lose the seat.
What Anant Singh has said about Neeraj Kumar
Anant Singh has made no secret of why he backed the rival candidate. He has said Neeraj Kumar worked against him in the 2025 Assembly election, which he won from Mokama by 28,206 votes over the RJD’s Veena Devi, Mint reported at the time.
“I am ready to face any action by the party,” he told reporters on polling day, 23 October, according to PTI. He also said Neeraj Kumar had always fought elections in Nitish Kumar’s name. When police detained some of his supporters that day, he said the tactic would only help the JSP candidate.
On 16 October, speaking at his home, he told reporters he had got nine people killed to help Nitish Kumar in his early political years, PTI reported. The Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) demanded details of the claim, and Union minister Jitan Ram Manjhi of the Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular), a JD(U) ally, said it should be investigated. JD(U) leader Rajeev Ranjan Prasad told the news agency ANI that Nitish Kumar had never made room for criminal politics. Anant Singh later said he had been misunderstood: he said nine of his associates had been killed under Lalu Prasad Yadav’s government and that he himself had been shot, India TV reported.
By Saturday evening, Anant Singh had not commented publicly on the expulsion in the reports available.
Timeline: from a council ticket to expulsion
| Date (2026) | What happened |
|---|---|
| 1 October | Anant Singh accompanies JSP candidate Anuj Singh to file his nomination for Patna Graduates’ (The Hindu) |
| 16 October | His “nine people” remark about Nitish Kumar draws demands for a probe; he later says he was misunderstood |
| 18 October | Roadshow for Anuj Singh in Mokama and Barh; police register 3 FIRs over alleged poll code violations |
| 23 October | Polling for 8 council seats; provisional turnout in Patna Graduates’ was 36.19% |
| 24 October | JD(U) expels Anant Singh and Neelam Devi for 6 years, asks the Speaker to disqualify him |
| 27 October | Votes for all 8 seats to be counted |
The three FIRs, or first information reports, relate to a roadshow on 18 October in which more vehicles than allowed were used, sirens were sounded and earth-moving JCB machines were used to shower petals in Barh town, Barh sub-divisional police officer Ram Krishna told The Hindu. The FIRs name the MLA, Anuj Singh and others under the Model Code of Conduct, the Election Commission’s rules for candidates and parties during a campaign.
Polling for the eight seats, four elected by graduates and four by teachers, ended largely peacefully on 23 October, the Chief Electoral Officer’s office said. Provisional figures that night put turnout at 43.87% in the graduates’ seats and 74.55% in the teachers’ seats, PTI reported; The Hindu reported consolidated figures of 53.42% and 82.85% on 24 October. Among the four graduates’ seats, provisional turnout was highest in Kosi at 52.51%, followed by Tirhut (42.15%), Darbhanga (42%) and Patna (36.19%). In all, 150 candidates are in the fray.
Can the Tenth Schedule cost the Mokama MLA his seat?
Expulsion from a party does not by itself end a lawmaker’s membership of the Assembly. Under the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution, a member can be disqualified on two main grounds: if they “voluntarily” give up membership of their party, or if they vote or abstain against the party’s direction in the House without its permission. The Speaker decides such petitions.
Courts have shaped how this works. In the Ravi S. Naik case of 1994, the Supreme Court held that giving up membership does not need a formal resignation and can be judged from a member’s conduct. In the G. Viswanathan case of 1996, it held that a member expelled by the party still counts as belonging to it for the purpose of the anti-defection law. In the Kihoto Hollohan case of 1992, it ruled that the Speaker’s decision can be challenged in court.
So the JD(U)’s request will turn on whether the Speaker treats campaigning for another party’s candidate as voluntarily giving up membership. The Speaker has not said whether or when he will take up the request. Until he decides, Anant Singh remains the MLA for Mokama, sitting as an expelled member.
What the Patna Graduates’ count on 27 October will settle
The JD(U) is part of the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in Bihar, and Neeraj Kumar has said he expects to win as the NDA candidate, PTI reported. Anant Singh and Prashant Kishor have both claimed that Neeraj Kumar does not have Nitish Kumar’s backing. Nitish Kumar met Neeraj Kumar on 22 October, a day before the vote.
The opposition has raised its own complaint about the polls. RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav accused the ruling alliance of using the administration to slow voting and allow impersonation, PTI reported. JD(U) leader Shyam Rajak said polling had gone smoothly and claimed there was a wave of support for the NDA. The Chief Electoral Officer’s office said it received 13 complaints during polling and resolved all of them.
The count on 27 October will show how the seat went. For background on the other big political row this week, read our report on the opposition INDIA bloc rally on 1 November.
Frequently asked questions
Why was Anant Singh expelled from the JD(U)?
The party says he defied its instructions, used insulting language about its leaders and campaigned for a Jan Suraaj candidate against its own nominee in the Patna Graduates' council election.
Does expulsion end his term as Mokama MLA?
No. He stays an MLA unless the Speaker disqualifies him under the Tenth Schedule, which the JD(U) has asked for.
When are the Bihar MLC election results?
Votes for all eight seats polled on 23 October 2026 will be counted on 27 October.