Mahagathbandhan names VIP chief Mukesh Sahani its Deputy CM candidate to strengthen support among Extremely Backward Classes (EBCs), including the Nishad community.
Despite weak past electoral performance, VIP will contest 15 seats in the 2025 Bihar polls as the alliance seeks to consolidate caste-based backing.
Sahani’s rise signals the alliance’s strategy to counter the NDA by leveraging EBC influence and rebuilding ties with Nishad groups.
The Mahagathbandhan has named Vikassheel Insaan Party (VIP) chief Mukesh Sahani as its Deputy Chief Ministerial candidate for the 2025 Bihar Assembly elections. Despite the party’s poor showing in the 2019 Lok Sabha and 2020 Assembly polls, VIP is expected to contest 15 seats this year.
The party was formally launched on November 4, 2018, by Bollywood set designer Mukesh Sahani, who had earlier campaigned for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) during the 2015 Bihar Assembly elections. With a niche voter base among the Extremely Backward Castes (EBCs), the party primarily draws its support from the Nishad, Nonia, Bind, and Beldar communities, comprising around 20 sub-castes traditionally associated with fishing and boating.
During the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the party contested three constituencies—Madhubani, Muzaffarpur, and Khagaria—but failed to secure a victory in any of them.
Initially allied with the Mahagathbandhan in the 2020 Bihar Assembly elections, the party later switched to the NDA camp due to confusion over seat-sharing. RJD leader and Mahagathbandhan’s Chief Ministerial candidate Tejashwi Yadav had announced that the VIP would receive seats from his own party’s quota, without specifying the exact number. Feeling “backstabbed” by this decision, Sahani withdrew from the alliance. At the time, one of his key demands was an assurance of the Deputy Chief Minister’s position.
Under the NDA’s seat-sharing arrangement, the party contested a total of 11 seats. Although Sahani himself lost from the Simri-Bakhtiyarpur Assembly constituency, the party managed to win four seats. Despite his defeat, he was inducted into the Nitish Kumar cabinet, serving as Minister for Animal Husbandry and Fisheries from November 16, 2020, to March 27, 2022.
In 2022, three of the party’s MLAs defected to the BJP, prompting Sahani to return to the Mahagathbandhan.
Despite his poor performance in the last two elections, Sahani has been promised the post of Deputy Chief Minister, largely because of his perceived appeal among Extremely Backward Classes (EBCs), who make up about 36 per cent of Bihar’s population.
The 2023 State Caste Survey shows the Nishad (boatmen) community accounts for around 10 per cent of EBCs. The Mallah sub-caste, to which Sahani belongs, represents 2.6 per cent of the total population. In recent years, the Nishads have moved away from major political alliances.
Mukesh Sahani’s elevation reflects the Mahagathbandhan’s focus on EBC voters, aiming to turn caste influence into political clout and reshape Bihar’s electoral battlefield.
