No (political) life without wife: Bahubali barred from polls finds suitable ‘candidate’

PATNA: Days after convicted lawbreaker from Nawada district, Ashok Mahto, issued a notice on social media and urged his friends and well-wishers to look for “an ideal bride”, the 60-year-old strongman tied nuptial knot with 46-year-old Kumari Anita, a Lakhisarai resident settled in Delhi, late Tuesday evening.
Mahto wants an RJD ticket for a family member from the Munger Lok Sabha seat to take on JD(U) heavyweight Rajiv Ranjan alias Lalan Singh. If his wife contests the poll, it would be baptism by fire for her.

Mahto himself can’t contest as he was released last year after 17 years in jail in a 2001 Nawada jailbreak case. Rules prohibit convicts jailed for over two years from contesting polls until six years after their release. Mahto has been holding road-shows in Munger and telling people that RJD has promised him a ticket, a claim the party denies.

Mahto’s wedding was a secret affair with just a handful of guests and family members attending it. On Wednesday morning, Mahto, along with Anita, reached the official residence of former CM Rabri Devi in Patna to seek “blessings” from RJD chief Lalu Prasad.

When reporters asked him if he would field his wife from a Lok Sabha seat, Mahto said nothing was decided yet. Mahto said Lalu didn’t give him any “assurance” about party ticket for his wife.

RJD said it was just a courtesy visit by Mahto after his wedding. “Nothing was discussed regarding fielding Mahto’s wife from any Lok Sabha constituency. The seat-sharing deal in Grand Alliance has not been finalised yet,” Bihar RJD spokesperson Chitranjan Gagan told TOI.