The gangs of Purnea: The journey of gangsters from intimidation to elections

Purnea (Bihar): Once upon a time, not too long ago, guns, goons and gangs dominated the elections in Purnea. Intimidating voters was almost the norm, as was booth capturing. Things have changed over the years. Men who built a reputation for their use of muscle power are part of the political process now. When they fold their hands before the masses seeking votes, it comes as a contrast to the image they built over decades. But that is how things are. And despite their past they are winning elections too. Here are some who have made the shift from bullets to ballots. Pappu Yadav [caption id=“attachment_2465502” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Pappu Yadav in a file image. Ibnlive image[/caption] Once a bahubali with influence not only in Bihar but also in Uttar Pradesh, Rajesh Ranjan aka Pappu Yadav entered politics from the world of crime in the 1990s. His is a rare story of success in Bihar’s politics. He has won the Lok Sabha elections in 1991, 1996, 1999, 2004 and 2014 from several constituencies in Bihar either as an independent or representing one of the several parties in Bihar. He became a don thanks to the patronage of his maternal uncle Arjun Singh, who used to run a parallel government in the district. Pappu was responsible for mobilising the youth to join his uncle’s gang. After Yadav was behind the bars, Pappu took charge of his uncle’s operations and quickly shot into the limelight. His youth organisation, Yuva Shakti, allegedly carried out criminal activities on his behalf and stood firmly behind him in times of need. Then he decided to enter politics. He contested the assembly polls from Singheshwarstahn in Madhepura as independent candidate and won. His debut impressed many heavyweight politicians, including RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav. He later became closer to Lalu and joined his party. In 1991, he contested the 10th Lok Sabha elections from Purnea and won by a huge margin. By that time, he was the most influential leader in the Kosi region. He has shifted parties, from the SP to the LJP to the RJD, but his success has hardly ever depended on the parties he joined. At present, he represents Madhepura. Pappu was allegedly involved in facilitating Purulia Arms Drop case prime accused Kim Davy’s safe exit from India. After he went to jail for his alleged involvement in murder of CPI(M) leader Ajit Sarkar, he spent 14 years behind bars before being exonerated from all charges. However, in that period his wife Ranjita Ranjan entered politics. She not only prepared the ground for herself in neighbouring Supaul but also kept in touch with the people in Madhepura to prevent her husband’s popularity from fading. And therefore, after his release Pappu comfortably won last year’s Lok Sabha polls from the same seat on an RJD ticket. Ranjita Ranjan also won Supaul as a Congress candidate. Shankar Singh The growing Yadav influence in Purnea, Pappu’s birth place, led to the consolidation of Rajputs who also have a significant presence in the district. Taking advantage of it, Butan Singh, the husband of sitting MLA of Dhamdaha in Purnea, Lesi Singh, who belongs to the same caste, formed a Rajput only militia called North Liberation Army (NLA). When Singh was murdered, Shankar Singh took charge of the NLA. The formation of the NLA led to a fight for caste dominance in Purnea. It created a sharp divide between forward and backward classes and influenced the politics of the region deeply. While candidates belonging to upper castes began taking the help of Shankar Singh-led NLA to influence and threaten voters and capture booths to win the elections, candidates associated with the backward castes enjoyed the support of Pappu’s Yuva Shakti to win polls. The NLA groomed and supported one Pappu Singh to fight the 2009 parliamentary election. He got a BJP ticket and won. With his victory, NLA got strong political patronage. As a result, the NLA’s influence in the area increased. Taking advantage of this, Shankar Singh contested the next assembly elections on a LJP ticket and won from Rupauli. With the passage of time and as people’s awareness rose, the NLA started getting discredited. Realising this, Shankar Singh abandoned the gun and became a full-fledged politician to seek votes on the plank of development. Since he was denied ticket this year from the NDA, he has decided to fight independently. Awdhesh Mandal With the rise in caste politics and growing influence of Yadavs and then Rajputs, the backward class community also wanted their presence to be felt. Taking advantage of the resentment in his fellow community members against powerful Yadavs and Rajputs, Awdhesh Mandal formed a separate group known as Faizan Giroh with the support of Mandal and others. Since he was a notorious criminal, he launched his wife Bima Bharti into politics. She got a JD(U) ticket and won last year’s assembly polls from Rupauli. She is contesting this year’s polls on a ticket from the Nitish Kumar-led party. After going to jail several times on different criminal charges, Mandal has finally left the gun and is involved in social service. He enjoys support among a section of the electorate in the area which increases the prospects of his wife. Though muscle power still plays a role in Purnea, it’s clearly on the wane with gangsters going the whole hog into politics.