Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Vijay Kumar Chaudhary said on 2 October that the Janata Dal (United) is examining all aspects of Mokama MLA Anant Singh's participation in a nomination rally supporting a Jan Suraaj candidate, and that the party would take an appropriate view. Chaudhary made the remarks in Samastipur, where he had travelled to attend a JD-U conference marking 20 years of the Jeevika initiative.

JD-U's Internal Dispute Over Anant Singh

Anant Singh, a JD-U legislator from Mokama, recently appeared at a nomination rally in Patna in support of a Jan Suraaj candidate contesting the Legislative Council election from the Patna Graduates' constituency. The move has widened a public rift between Singh and JD-U spokesperson and MLC candidate Neeraj Kumar, who is the party's own contender in the same constituency. Chaudhary acknowledged the matter had come to the party's notice and indicated the leadership was reviewing it carefully. He had earlier said the dispute would be resolved soon.

Chaudhary Pushes Back on Chirag Paswan's Law-and-Order Criticism

Union Minister Chirag Paswan had recently drawn attention by publicly criticising the Bihar government over law and order, particularly citing crimes against women and teenage girls. Paswan reportedly said he was 'ashamed' to be associated with a government under which such incidents were taking place — a pointed remark given that two ministers from his party, Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas), are themselves part of the Bihar cabinet.

Chaudhary pushed back, saying he did not believe the situation had deteriorated to a level where any ruling-alliance leader would feel embarrassed about their association with the government. He acknowledged that criminal incidents had increased in certain areas in recent weeks but stressed that the state government, led by Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary, was pursuing strict action and maintained a zero-tolerance approach to crime. Notably, this is one of the more public expressions of tension within the National Democratic Alliance (NDA)'s Bihar unit, where coalition partners have occasionally traded barbs even while remaining in government together.

Jeevika's 20-Year Milestone

The Samastipur conference was convened to mark two decades of the Jeevika programme, Bihar's flagship rural self-help group initiative. Chaudhary credited former Chief Minister Nitish Kumar with conceptualising the scheme as a vehicle for empowering rural women and enabling economic self-reliance. He praised the women associated with the programme — popularly referred to as 'Jeevika Didis' — and said their participation had shaped both the political and social trajectory of the Nitish Kumar-led government over the past 20 years. He added that the current government under Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary was continuing the same development-oriented approach. A large number of JD-U leaders, legislators, and Jeevika members from across Samastipur district attended the event.

What to Watch Next

The JD-U's handling of the Anant Singh matter will be closely watched as a test of party discipline ahead of future electoral cycles. Any formal action — or deliberate inaction — will signal how the leadership plans to manage internal dissent while keeping coalition arithmetic intact in Bihar.