Former chief minister Nitish Kumar with Ajay Kumar Singh and his wife

Patna, Aug. 29: The JDU is fielding for the Rajya Sabha bypoll a candidate it had denied an Assembly bypoll ticket in 2011 for his alleged criminal background.

Ajay Kumar Singh, the bahubali (strongman) from Siwan’s Siswan police station area, is the JDU-RJD-Congress candidate for election to the Upper House. When then chief minister Nitish Kumar had denied him a ticket to contest the by-election from Daraunda in Siwan in 2011, a desperate Ajay had hurriedly tied the knot, despite it being the inauspicious kharmas period, so that the ticket could go to his newlywed wife Kavita Kumari.

The seat had earlier belonged to his mother Jagmato Devi, who won Assembly elections twice, in 2005 and 2010. It fell vacant in June 2001 after Jagmato died. Ajay’s wife Kavita won the 2011 by-election by over 20,000 votes.

Ajay, in his mid-30s, faces serious criminal charges such as murder, kidnapping, extortion and attempt to murder. Sources said he is also accused of killing Chainpur police station house officer (SHO) B.K. Yadav in Siwan in 2002. He shot to notoriety after he allegedly murdered Riyazuddin, a trusted lieutenant of incarcerated former RJD MP Mohammad Shahabuddin, in 2004.

“Between 2002 and 2007, Ajit unleashed a reign of terror in Siwan, Saran and Gopalganj districts. Initially, he was associated with Siwan strongman Shahabuddin, but left him when assigned the task of eliminating his own associate. He then formed his own gang, comprising of youngsters,” recalls an associate.

Ajay’s name also figured in the attack on the ancestral home of Raghunathpur’s BJP MLA Vikram Kuer in which a person was killed. “The list of Ajay’s criminal antecedents is long. His rivalry with the CPI(ML) in the region is no secret. He allegedly murdered two CPI(ML) workers, Shambhu Yadav and Raju Kharbar, over political rivalry,” said a senior police officer.

JDU leaders, however, don’t see anything wrong in fielding Ajay for the Rajya Sabha. “He is an active JDU worker and always worked in the larger interest of the party. The charges were levelled out of political vendetta,” said senior JDU leader Rakesh Kumar.

His relatives said former chief minister Nitish Kumar had announced the party would not field candidates having criminal antecedents and denied Ajay a ticket. But Ajay married Kavita, despite it being kharmas, when sacred Hindu rituals are banned, and met Nitish to seek his blessings. Nitish not only fielded Kavita on a JDU ticket from Daraunda, but also campaigned to ensure her victory.

Ajay, who hails from Nandamuda village, said the court has not convicted him in any case. Asked about the JDU denying him a ticket in 2011, he said: “I had decided not to marry as I wanted to serve the nation. But Nitishji called me after my mother’s death and asked me to get married to fulfil my mother’s dreams.”

His confidant said: “Indications of Ajay’s elevation abounded when his wife Kavita defended Shahabuddin and his son Osama Shahab in the Assembly recently. Shahabuddin and Osama are accused in a trader’s murder in Siwan.” The dons of Bihar are coming together, albeit gradually.