Patna,(BiharTimes): The acquittal of the former LJP MP Suraj Bhan Singh and two ex-MLAs Munna Shukla and Rajan Tiwari in the former minister Brij Bihari Prasad murder case came at the time when the state politics is returning to the Mandal years.

Sometimes back Madhepura MP, Pappu Yadav, got acquittal from the court in the CPI (M) MLA Ajit Sarkar murder case. So apart from former MPs Mohammad Shahabuddin and Anand Mohan Singh most of the strongmen who flourished in the polarized years of 1990s are out from the jail.

In their absemce all these strongmen promoted their wives, or other relatives, in politics––some succeeded while others not. Even Brij Bihari’s widow, Rama Devi, first became minister in the Rabri Devi cabinet and then switched over to the BJP to become its MP.

However, it is Shahabuddin, whose wife failed to win the election notwithstanding two attempts––in 2009 and 2014.
Brij Bihari Prasad, a minister in the Rabri Devi government, was gunned down while he was undergoing medical treatment at Indira Gandhi Institute of Medical Science (IGIMS) at Patna in June 1998.
In 2009 Suraj Bhan, Munna Shukla and Rajan Tiwari were sentenced to life imprisonment by a CBI court.

Munna Shukla and Rajan Tiwari have been acquitted from murder case. The former, who was the JD(U) MLA from Lalganj, was earlier given life term in the Gopalganj District Magistrate G Krishnaiyyah murder case.

In 2008, he was awarded life term which debarred him from contesting the Assembly elections. His wife Annu Shukla had successfully fought from Lalganj Assembly seat in 2010.

In the recent general election, she unsuccessfully contested as an Independent from Vaishali Lok Sabha seat. A month after the poll she returned to the Janata Dal (United) fold.

Munna Shukla can now make a political comeback even though he still has other criminal cases pending against him.

Similarly, Rajan Tiwari was also handed life imprisonment in the Ajit Sarkar murder case. The former legislator from Govindganj was awarded a similar sentence in the Brij Bihari case.

In 2010, he had unsuccessfully fielded his brother Raju as the LJP candidate from Govindganj.

Tiwari was facing eight charges of murder and five charges related to attempt to murder when he had contested the 2005 Bihar Assembly election.

After being exonerated he too can try his luck in the politics again.

Suraj Bhan was convicted in two murder cases. Though he has been acquitted in the Brij Bihari murder case he will have to wait for the high court verdict in the Rami Singh murder case.
He is also an accused in the Ram Naresh Sharma murder case of Begusarai which is still in trial stage.
Suraj Bhan, however, got his wife, Veena Devi elected as MP on the LJP ticket in the recently held Lok Sabha election.

Anand Mohan’s case is a bit different. His conviction by a fast-track court has been upheld by the Patna high court and the Supreme Court.

He was convicted for instigating a mob to lynch the then Gopalganj district magistrate G Krishnaiyyah. He was initially awarded capital punishment, but the high court later commuted it to life sentence.
Anand moved the Supreme Court, but it upheld the high court judgement.

However, he in 1990s got his wife, Lovely Anand, elected to the Lok Sabha. She had then enjoyed the support of the BJP and Janata Dal (United). In 2014 she contested from Seohar Lok Sabha seat on the Samajwadi Party ticket but lost.

With Anand Mohan and Shahabuddin still cooling their heels in jail Suraj Bhan, Rajan Tiwari and Munna Shukla are likely to play a much larger role.

With politics once againg getting polarized on the caste line it needs to be seen what position they are going to take in this new environment.