He was born in a village Nadawan falling under BarhCD block, Bihar. He contested and won from the Mokama assembly seat in 2005 on a JDU ticket. He retained the seat in 2010, defeating Sonam Devi of Lok Janshakti Party by a large margin. He is married to Neelam Devi. On 2 September 2015, Singh quit the JDU following a fall-out with leader Nitish Kumar over the JDU's new alliance with the Rashtriya Janata Dal. On 16 August 2019, Singh was booked under the Unlawful Activities Act after the police took possession of an AK-47 rifle, a magazine, live cartridges and two hand grenades following a raid on his ancestral home in Ladma village of Patna district.
Criminal cases and influence
Anant singh used to be a notorious figure in the barh region of Bihar as numerous cases of murder, kidnapping, and land grabbing were lodged against him.The barh region has remained notorious for dreaded caste wars particularly between two Forward Castes of Bihar, the Bhumihars and Rajputs.In these wars he emerged as a saviour of his community.According to locals, people in this region refrain from going outside during night due to fear of being kidnapped or murdered.The fortune of Singh turned when Nitish Kumar, decided to nominate him as his candidate on the ticket of Janata Dal from the Mokama constituency.It was considered as paradoxical by a section of media that Nitish who vowed to end 'criminalisation of politics' was backing such a person against whom charges of serious cognizable offences were lodged.But, amidst criticism and counter statements Singh managed to win from Mokama seat due to support of his castemen as well as wave of Nitish kumar.Singh has been three times MLA from Mokama. However, during 1990s Singh was not as notorious as Mohammad Shahabuddin, a strongman and politician backed by Lalu Prasad Yadav's Rashtriya Janata Dal.Singh’s notorious activities dragged Nations attention when in 2007 he was reported to have two journalists from NDTV 24×7 and ANI news as hostages in his official bungalow.It was reported that they had been there to interview Singh upon his involvement in murder and molestation of a women called Reshma Khatoon, whose body was recovered in a sack near the capital.The political protection given to Singh and another gangster named Sunil Pandey by the ruling regime was aimed at mobilisation of Bhumihar caste.According to the locals, Singh who was known as "Chhote Sarkar" in Mokama is a role model of Bhumihars, who consistently opposed Laloo Yadav's regime.Thus, political parties opposing Laloo used him as a tool to mobilise Bhumihar voters.
