Bihar Elections 2025: Why Mahagathbandhan picked Mukesh Sahani as Dy CM candidate and will this 'VIP gamble' work?

The countdown for the Bihar Elections 2025 is on. While the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) has said that they are fighting the election under Nitish Kumar's leadership, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said that the decision on the chief minister's post will be taken after the election based on the scenario. However, the Mahagathbandhan has announced Tejashwi Yadav as the Chief Ministerial candidate and Vikasheel Insan Party chief Mukesh Sahani as Deputy CM face. The Bihar Elections 2025 for 243 members Assembly will take place in two phases - the first phase is on November 6 and the second phase on November 11. Counting for the election will take place on November 14.

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Who is Mukesh Sahani?

Mukesh Sahani was born in 1981 in Supaul Bazar village of Darbhanga district in Bihar. He is popularly known as the 'Son of Mallah' because he is a member of the Mallah community, which is a traditional caste of boatmen and fishermen found mainly in Bihar and eastern Uttar Pradesh. The Mallah community is classified among Bihar’s Extremely Backward Classes (EBCs). Coming from a humble background, Sahani left his home at 19 to seek work in Mumbai. As per multiple reports, he sold cosmetics and then found his way into Bollywood’s set design industry. He established Mukesh Cineworld Pvt. Ltd, which built film sets for major productions like Devdas (2002) starring Shah Rukh Khan, and Bajrangi Bhaijaan (2015) starring Salman Khan.

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Sahani earned his resources from Bollywood, and then he started his political journey. He founded Vikassheel Insaan Party (VIP) in 2018. During the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, he joined the Mahagathbandhan to represent the interests of the Nishad and Mallah communities. He was allotted three seats -Muzaffarpur, Khagaria and Madhubani - all of which he lost. Sahani himself contested in Khagaria and lost to Lok Janshakti Party’s Mehboob Ali Kaisar by 2.5 lakh votes. Disagreements between him and RJD began over seat-sharing ahead of the 2020 Bihar Assembly elections. He then stitched an alliance with the NDA and contested the 2020 state polls as a part of the NDA. The VIP was allotted 11 seats under the NDA quota, out of which it won four. Following the victory, Sahani was rewarded with a cabinet position — he became the Minister for Animal Husbandry and Fisheries Resources in the Nitish Kumar-led government. Due to the BJP's dominance in the alliance, he distanced himself and rejoined the Mahagathbandhan in April 2024. While the seat-sharing deal in Mahagathbandhan is not clear yet, reports suggest that VIP is contesting on 16 seats. Sahani himself is not contesting the polls.

Why was Sahani - whose party is contesting 16 seats - was made Deputy CM?

Political experts from Bihar say that Sahani was chosen as the Deputy Chief Ministerial face by the Mahagathbandhan primarily due to Bihar’s caste and electoral arithmetic. According to Bihar’s 2023 caste survey, Mallah/Nishad community forms a significant portion of the Extremely Backward Classes (around 9–10% of the state’s population). This helps the Mahagathbandhan to broaden its base beyond the traditional M-Y(Muslim + Yadav) core - that is, roughly 32% of the population. By elevating Sahani to the post of Deputy CM, but cutting the number of seats his party will contest, RJD has managed to hint at a larger role of backward communities if its government is formed, while it has also successfully ended its inner party turbulence over seat sharing as far as VIP is concerned. If political experts on-ground are to be believed, Sahani's sway has helped VIP in regions such as North Bihar, Seemanchal, Mithila, and riverine areas and benefitted the alliance he is with to get an additional 5–7 per cent in its kitty.

However, on-ground situation may be tricky. Jan Suraaj has also fielded Mallah leaders in the region. Then, there's a section of VIP supporters miffed with Sahani's decision to rejoin Mahagathbandhan. BJP, in the past, has also successfully poached Mallah leaders and extended its clout on Sahani's vote base via local faces.

It is only on November 14 that we will know if Mahagathbandhan's 'VIP gamble' worked in their favour or not.