Bihar Battle: Tension in opposition bloc as VIP eyes Cong, RJD bastions

He locked himself in his hotel room for almost the entire day, while his press briefing had to be postponed thrice. There were speculations about the VIP snapping ties with the alliance because Sahani was allegedly upset with the seat-sharing arrangement.

“Sahani has talked with Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on the issue. Gandhi assured him that he would negotiate a solution to the problem. We are hopeful that we will find a solution,” said VIP spokesperson Dr Sunil Kumar. Incidentally, Sahani’s supporters even raised slogans against the RJD.

It is learnt that the Vikassheel Insaan Party is not upset about the numbers, but the allotted seats. The party have been given 18 seats. “Sahini has been asking for seats with a strong RJD or Congress presence. For example, he is asking for Simri Bakhtiyarpur seat, where we have a sitting MLA. Eight of the seats that he is asking for are all RJD strongholds. Besides, some of the seats that he is seeking have a strong Congress presence. The RJD has even offered these seats, but with a condition that they will be RJD leaders, who will fight the poll under the RJD’s party symbol. But Sahani rejected the offer,” said a senior RJD leader involved in the negotiations.

With October 17 being the last day for filing nomination papers, the VIP chief has very limited options. The NDA has already announced its candidates for almost all seats, blocking the way for Sahani to negotiate a last-minute deal with the BJP as he did in the 2020 Assembly poll.

In the previous state elections, he had walked out of the Mahagathbandhan and negotiated a deal with the BJP, getting 11 seats.

Saying VIP leaders are not eager to form a third front, an RJD leader said ultimately, the VIP founder would have to swallow his pride and go with the Mahagathbandhan. The RJD leader also questioned the background of candidates that the VIP wants to field from the seats that it is aspiring for.

Who is Mukesh Sahani?

Hailing from Darbhanga, Mukesh Sahani has had a typical rags-to-riches story. He fled his home and landed in Mumbai, where he started off as a manual labourer. He went on to build a company that designs movies sets.

In 2014, when he emerged as an admirer of Narendra Modi and even campaigned for the BJP, his company in Mumbai was worth more than Rs 1,000 crore. He became an icon among his community -- the Mallahs, which is a community of fishermen. The Mallah community constitutes 2.5 percent of the Bihar population and have a strong presence in North Bihar pockets of Darbhanga, Muzaffarpur, Madhubani and Khagaria.

Mukesh formed the VIP in 2017, and had even hired a helicopter to bring in his supporters for the rally. But he has a background of making flip flops, which often makes allies wary of the VIP founder.

Before the 2020 elections, he was with the RJD. But then he made a U-turn and joined hands with the BJP. After the elections, he was even made a minister in the state by Nitish Kumar. But he got side-lined after he contested the UP elections and said unpleasant things about PM Modi’s government. Just before the Assembly elections, he was back with RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav.

Should fake voters be allowed: Yogi on burqa row

UP CM Yogi Adityanath made his presence felt on Thursday as he addressed a public meeting in Saharsa.

Targeting the Mahagathbandhan for objecting to the checking of Burka-clad Muslim women at polling booths, the Uttar Pradesh CM asked if fake voters be allowed to vote?

He further said the RJD was becoming a hindrance to development in Bihar. “RJD’s friends in UP are facing problems as I am seizing their ill-gotten property and distributing it to the poor,” said Yogi.

He said Bihar and UP were interlinked with the Ram-Janki heritage. He also criticised the RJD-Congress stir against the SIR exercise, saying the revision of electoral rolls was aimed at shielding infiltrators. He also accompanied former Union Minister Ram Kripal Yadav as he filed his nomination at Danapur.

Meanwhile, the BJP announced its list of star campaigners, which includes Bhojpuri film star Pawan Singh, Madhya Pradesh CM Mohan Yadav, and former Union Minister Smriti Irani.