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Sahani initially demanded 60 seats but now claims he will settle for a little over 30. He also says he will be deputy CM and that this has been ‘decided’
What goes in Sahani’s favour is that he claims to represent 14% of the population of Bihar, comprising fishermen or boatmen. File pic/PTI
He wants 30-plus seats, the post of deputy chief minister, and “samman” because he is the “son of Mallah (fisherman)”. Meet Mukesh Sahani of the Vikasheel Insaan Party (VIP) in Bihar. Once a Bollywood set designer, he is proving to be the biggest headache for the opposition alliance, or Mahagathbandhan, acting like a “VIP”.
In 2020, Sahani had walked out dramatically from a press conference being held by Tejashwi Yadav to announce seat distribution, as he was unhappy with the number promised to him. Sahani said he had been backstabbed. He jumped over to the NDA then and won four seats out of the 11 given to him. This was also VIP’s electoral debut. Sahani was even made a minister in the state government by the NDA.
Come 2024, Sahani was back in the opposition alliance. He was spotted during the recent “Voter Adhikar Yatra” in Bihar, featuring prominently at times with Rahul Gandhi and Tejashwi Yadav. He claims it is his party that got the maximum crowds for the yatra.
He initially demanded 60 seats from the Mahagathbandhan, but now claims he will settle for a little over 30. Sahani also says he will be deputy chief minister and that this has been “decided”.
However, the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) camp is not confirming any of these claims.
What goes in Sahani’s favour is that he claims to represent 14% of the population of Bihar, comprising fishermen or boatmen. That is why the BJP courted him as a campaigner in the 2015 elections, before he formed his party, VIP, in 2018, and jumped ship to the opposition alliance ahead of the 2020 polls. However, he was back in the NDA by the time these polls were held.
Come 2024, he was again back in the Mahagathbandhan, allying with the same RJD and the Congress, whom he had earlier blamed for backstabbing him.
So, will Sahani walk out again dramatically if he is denied at least 30 seats and a deputy CM post? Chances are, he won’t be getting both, as the Congress, a national party, also has its eyes on the deputy CM chair if the alliance wins.
The opposition alliance also needs to accommodate the Left parties in a big way since they have the best strike rate in the state, both in the 2020 assembly elections and the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. At best, RJD may be in a position to give Sahani a dozen-odd seats.
So Mukesh Sahani may not get any “VIP” privileges this time.
Aman Sharma, Executive Editor – National Affairs at CNN-News18, and Bureau Chief at News18 in Delhi, has over two decades of experience in covering the wide spectrum of politics and the Prime Minister’s Office….Read More
Aman Sharma, Executive Editor – National Affairs at CNN-News18, and Bureau Chief at News18 in Delhi, has over two decades of experience in covering the wide spectrum of politics and the Prime Minister’s Office…. Read More
October 08, 2025, 08:00 IST
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