Ingenuity knows no bounds as proved again by a criminal from Bihar, who in a bid to gain political clout married during ‘kharmas’ (an inauspicious period) and now his wife is likely to contest the Lok Sabha election against former JD(U) president Rajiv Ranjan Singh aka Lalan Singh in the Munger constituency. Ashok Mahto, along with his wife, met RJD chief Lalu Prasad in Patna on Wednesday for his blessings. RJD spokesperson Chitranjan Gagan said, “Mahto's wife is associated with my party in Delhi where she works. Our party will field 'good' women in the election.
She may have an advantage.” Mahto was released from jail last year after doing 17 years in the 2001 Nawada jail break. He was also an accused in the muder of MP Rajo Singh. Mahto tied the knot with Kumari Anita, 46, at Karauta Jagdamba Mandir in Patna’s Bakhtiyarpur on Tuesday night. She is a native of Bansipur Hemrajpur in Suryagarha block of Lakhisarai. Mahto decided to marry as he could not contest the poll due to his conviction in criminal cases. The law says a convict cannot contest elections for six years following the end of his sentence.
Khakee: The Bihar Chapter
In 2022, Mahto hogged the limelight after the release of a web series, Khakee: The Bihar Chapter. It was based on his criminal gang. The series was based on a book written by IPS officer Amit Lodha. Mahto is eyeing the RJD ticket for his wife from the Munger Lok Sabha constituency. Mahto’s is not an isolated case as earlier muscleman Ajay Singh married during the inauspicious ‘Pitrapaksha’ period when Chief Minister Nitish Kumar refused to give him JD(U) ticket to contest by-election from Daunda owing to his criminal background. The by-poll was necessitated following the demise of MLA Jagmato Devi, who happened to be Mahto’s mother in 2011. He eventually married Kavita Singh, who won the by-election on the JD(U) ticket. She was elected as an MP from Siwan in the 2019 Lok Sabha election.
