A video of Union minister and Janata Dal (United) leader Rajiv Ranjan alias Lalan Singh has triggered a major controversy in poll-bound Bihar. In the viral video, also shared by the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), the minister can be heard asking his supporters not to let opposition leaders and candidates leave their homes to cast their vote on polling day. The JD(U) leader adds in the video that if the politicians insist and plead, then his supporters should accompany them to the polling booth.
While it is not clear in the video who Lalan Singh was referring to, the Election Commission has nevertheless issued a notice to the Union minister in connection with the matter. The Chief Electoral Officer of Bihar issued the notice to the JD(U) leader after the RJD posted the said video on its X handle and demanded that the EC act against Lalan Singh. Separately, an FIR has also been registered against Singh over his remarks.
The RJD alleged that the minister was seeking to intimidate voters in the Mokama Assembly constituency.
“Union Minister Lalan Singh, while bulldozing the Election Commission’s authority, is saying that the poor should not be allowed to leave their homes on the day of voting! They should be locked inside, and if someone pleads too much, then take them along and make them vote. Where is the dead Election Commission?” Tejashwi Yadav’s party wrote on X.
केंद्रीय मंत्री ललन सिंह चुनाव आयोग की छाती पर बुलडोज़र चढ़ाते हुए कह रहे कि गरीबों को वोटिंग के दिन घर से निकलने नहीं देना है! घर में बंद कर देना है, अगर ज्यादा हाथ पैर जोड़ेगा तो अपने साथ ले जा कर वोट गिराने देना है।कहाँ है मरा हुआ आयोग? pic.x.com/BQRMQpAW3H
— Rashtriya Janata Dal (@RJDforIndia) November 4, 2025
The controversy has broken out just before the first phase of the Bihar Assembly Election on November 6 (Thursday). The election campaign for the first phase is set to end this evening.
Lalan Singh is campaigning for JD(U) candidate from Mokama, Anant Singh, who has been arrested in connection with the murder of one Dularchand Yadav. Yadav was killed on October 30 during a clash between supporters of the Jan Suraaj Party (JSP) and the JD(U) in Mokama.
Speaking to the people in Mokama, Lalan Singh was quoted as saying, “We will not let the people of Mokama feel the absence of Anant Singh.”
It may be noted that voting for Bihar’s 243-seat Assembly will be held in two phases on November 6 and 11, while the counting of votes will happen on November 14.