Pradeep Mahto alias Pradeep Kumar is a former

Member of Legislative Assembly A member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) is a representative elected by the voters of a constituency to a legislative assembly. Most often, the term refers to a subnational assembly such as that of a state, province, or territory of a country. ...

for the year 2005 and 2010 from the Warisaliganj (Vidhan Sabha constituency) of the

Nawada Nawada is a city and a municipality in Bihar, India. It is also the headquarters of the Nawada district. It is the headquarters of the subdivision of the same name, lying on both sides of the Khuri River( also known as Sakri river in some ...

region of

Bihar Bihar (; ) is a state in eastern India. It is the 2nd largest state by population in 2019, 12th largest by area of , and 14th largest by GDP in 2021. Bihar borders Uttar Pradesh to its west, Nepal to the north, the northern part of West ...

. Mahto is a nephew and former associate of Ashok Mahto, the gangster who was indulged in a long drawn battle with Akhilesh Singh, another gangster of the region. The Mahto and Singh gang were arranged on the

caste Caste is a form of social stratification characterised by endogamy, hereditary transmission of a style of life which often includes an occupation, ritual status in a hierarchy, and customary social interaction and exclusion based on cultural ...

lines and proclaimed themselves as the group serving the interest of

Kurmi Kurmi is traditionally a non-elite tiller caste in the lower Gangetic plain of India, especially southern regions of Awadh, eastern Uttar Pradesh and parts of Bihar. The Kurmis came to be known for their exceptional work ethic, superior til ...

and

Bhumihar Bhumihars, also called Babhan, are a Hindu caste mainly found in Bihar (including the Mithila region), the Purvanchal region of Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, the Bundelkhand region of Madhya Pradesh, and Nepal. The Bhumihars claim Brahmin st ...

community of the region respectively.

Biography

Mahto was born to Laxmi Mahto and has remained associated with his uncle's gang in initial years of life. After the arrest of Ashok Mahto he became the de facto leader of the faction which was associated with the several killings in the region particularly of upper-caste people and supporters of Akhilesh Singh. In 2000 Aruna Devi, the wife of Akhilesh Singh was elected as the

from the Warisaliganj. In 2005 she again contested the election from the same seat but this time on the symbol of

Lok Janshakti Party The Lok Janshakti Party ( LJP, "People’s Manpower Party") was a state political party mainly based in the state of Bihar, India. The party was formed in 2000 when Ram Vilas Paswan split from Janata Dal. The party had a considerable followi ...

. Aruna though won in February but in the by polls held in October in the same year, she lost to Pradeep Mahto, who became the MLA for the first time for a period of five years. Mahto had contested against her as

Independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independe ...

candidate. In 2010

Janata Dal (United) Janata Dal (United) ("People’s Party (United)”) abbreviated as JD(U) is an Indian political party with political presence mainly in eastern and north-eastern India. JD(U) is recognised as a state party in the states of Bihar , Arunachal P ...

allotted its symbol to the Mahto from the Warisaliganj and he emerged victorious once again; but this time as a candidate of JD(U). His association with JD (U) has a long history, and he has served as the district president of the party for

, for a number of times. Mahto has been facing several criminal charges including those of murder. Pradeep's political career was shaken, when in 2015, Aruna Devi defeated him in the Assembly Election as the

Bharatiya Janata Party The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; ; ) is a political party in India, and one of the two major List of political parties in India, Indian political parties alongside the Indian National Congress. Since 2014, it has been the List of ruling p ...

candidate. In 2020 Pradeep though himself being unable to contest the assembly elections due to his conviction in one of the case launched his wife as independent candidate from Warisaliganj but she lost to Aruna once again. Mahto suspectedly was also the person behind 2001 ''Nawada Jail break'' case, in which, he surrendered in the court in the following years, though until then, he managed to get the ticket from JD (U). In the famous Jail break case, he was accused of facilitating the escape of his uncle Ashok Mahto.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mahto, Pradeep Living people People from Nawada district Bihar MLAs 2005–2010 Bihar MLAs 2010–2015 Criminals from Bihar Year of birth missing (living people) Janata Dal (United) politicians