Bihar Assembly Elections 2025 | Who is VIP chief Mukesh Sahani and why he matters to I.N.D.I.A. bloc

Assembly election in Bihar is just round the corner. As the state gears up for the big event, so doe the political drama around it. With negotiations over seat sharing, now VIP chief Mukesh Sahani matters to I.N.D.I.A front in this polls.

After days of negotiations over seat sharing, Mukesh Sahani-led VIP almost walked out of the Mahagatbandhan on Thursday, but was stopped after top leaders intervened.

Let us take a look at who VIP chief Mukesh Sahani is and why he is so important for I.N.D.I.A.

VIP chief Mukesh Sahani served as the Minister for Animal Husbandry and Fisheries till March 2022.

Before entering politics, he worked as a Bollywood stage designer. He also owns a company named 'Mukesh Cineworld Private Limited'.

Born on March 31, 1981, Sahani in his initial career days worked as a salesman, before entering Bollywood as a set designer.

Sahani started off his political career with campaigning for BJP, following which the party saw victory in the 2014 Lok Sabha election. However, he later left the party.

Sahani in 2018 formed the Vikassheel Insaan Party.

On Thursday, according to the sources Sahani, who had been upset over not being given enough space in the coalition, all but exited the alliance. No dialogue took place between the VIP and RJD over the last two days.

The source said Sahani reached out to CPI(ML) Liberation General Secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya, who, in his turn, then reached out to Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi, and stressed that the VIP must be accommodated.

The sources said Rahul Gandhi discussed the matter with the top RJD leadership and also talked to Sahani. The interventions led the Vikassheel Insaan Party chief to write a letter to Rahul Gandhi expressing his commitment to the alliance.

In the letter, the VIP chief said that he was assured of being given a certain number of seats, which was not fulfilled.

However now the sources said the RJD and VIP have reached an agreement under which the Sahani-led party will contest 15 Assembly seats and get an MLC position. Sahani, who initially demanded 60 seats and the Deputy Chief Minister’s post, had later scaled down his ask to 30.

Sahni is a leader of the Nishad community in Bihar, which constitutes around 2.5 per cent of the state's population. He is seen as a leader capable of influencing voters across multiple constituencies, even though he has seen limited electoral wins.

(With PTI and DHNS inputs)