Patna: Seat-sharing discussions between the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and the Vikassheel Insaan Party (VIP) have intensified ahead of the Bihar Assembly elections, with sources revealing that the RJD has offered 15 seats to Mukesh Sahani’s party along with the post of Deputy Chief Minister. However, the VIP has yet to approve the proposal and has reportedly set its own conditions.
According to party insiders, while the VIP is not opposed to the number of seats offered, it is insisting on specific constituencies where it believes it holds stronger ground. Sahani, the party’s chief, was scheduled to announce details at a press conference on Thursday, but the event was cancelled after two reschedulings, fuelling speculation over ongoing negotiations.
A Political Turncoat in 2020
Mukesh Sahani, often described as the “Son of Mallah,” made headlines in the 2020 Bihar elections when he switched sides from the Grand Alliance to the National Democratic Alliance (NDA). The move came after he accused the Grand Alliance of betrayal for not allocating any seats to his party during its internal seat-sharing discussions.
Once with the NDA, the BJP allotted 11 constituencies to Sahani’s VIP — including Bochahan, Simri Bakhtiyarpur, and Alinagar — though Sahni himself lost the Simri Bakhtiyarpur seat to RJD’s Yusuf Salauddin.
Short-Lived Ministerial Stint
Despite the loss, Sahani was made a Member of the Legislative Council (MLC) and inducted as Bihar’s Minister of Animal Husbandry and Fisheries. His party won four seats in the 2020 polls: Bochahan, Gaura Bauram, Alinagar, and Sahibganj. However, his ministerial term lasted barely a year and a half.
Relations between Sahani and the BJP soured toward the end of his tenure when he fielded candidates against the BJP in the Uttar Pradesh elections. In 2022, three of his MLAs — Rajkumar Singh, Swarna Singh, and Mishri Lal Yadav — crossed over to the BJP. Following the death of VIP MLA Musafir Paswan, a by-election in Bochahan saw the RJD win the seat with Paswan’s son, Amar Paswan.
