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New Delhi: Mukesh Sahani-led Vikasheel Insaan Party (VIP) will contest 15 seats in the upcoming Assembly Elections in Bihar. The decision by the leader of VIP effectively ends speculations about the course the Mahagathbandhan alliance would take just weeks before polling begins. Sahani claimed that the Opposition alliance had promised him 1 Rajya Sabha seat and 2 MLC seats in return for contesting the elections as a unit.
According to reports, CPI(ML) leader Dipanka Bhattacharya played a key role in bringing about the breakthrough regarding seat sharing with the VIP. Sahani also wrote to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi regarding his seat demands. After the letter reached the Leader of Opposition, he is said to have spoken to the RJD top brass, according to a report in NDTV.
The exact details regarding which party in the Mahagathbandhan is going to contest how many seats will be released soon. RJD's Tejashwi Yadav has already filed his nomination from Raghopur seat.
The 44-year-old Sahani is a key figure in the Bihar elections, a state where caste dynamics are the most important in any election. Earlier he had demanded 24 seats from the Mahagathbandhan, in an effort to gain more power for his community in the government. He represents the fishermen and boatmen community of the state and both these groups form an important voter base for any political party in Bihar.
As seat sharing talks were on, rumours were rife that VIP might exit the Mahagathbandhan alliance, if the seats demand was not met. However with the announcement of 15 seats being allotted to the party, such talks have been put to rest.
Sahani was once heralded as a star in political circles. His fortunes however dipped after he was dismissed by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar from his Cabinet in 2022, for continuously criticising PM Narendra Modi and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. He was the Animal Husbandry and Fisheries Minister in the Kumar Cabinet.
As of now, Sahani seems to hae limited options. He can either stick to the Mahagathbandhan and contest the elections in alliance with them. Or the other option is to go alone in the upcoming polls, making alliance with other smaller parties. This however would effectively mean fading into oblivion. His party will also have to face newly founded outfit Jan Suraaj of poll strategist-turned-politician, Prashant Kishor.
Bihar is set to vote in 2 phases, on November 6 and 11 and the counting is scheduled for November 14.
