Bihar elections: Mukesh Sahani's cryptic post jolts Mahagathbandhan amid seat-sharing talks
The cryptic post by Mukesh Sahani. (Right) Sahani with Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav | X
A week after the Election Commission announced the dates of the Bihar Assembly Elections, seat-sharing talks within the Opposition Mahagathbandhan are yet to yield results. Amid speculations of a rife within the alliance, a post put by Vikassheel Insaan Party founder Mukesh Sahni is grabbing eyeballs.
Sahni, who joined the Mahagathbandhan in 2019, has put up a cryptic post which read: “On November 14th, we will form a government in Bihar where every section of society will receive its rights and respect." The poster also featured his party's symbol and a photo of Mukesh Sahni.
Interestingly, it made no mention of Mahagathbandhan nor featured any images of any Opposition leaders. He had put up a poster two days earlier mentioning the Grand Alliance, but opted not to on Sunday. This has triggered rumours that Sahni could even quit the alliance to switch to the NDA.
Not only that, Sahni is also projecting himself as Deputy CM, which seems to have not gone down well with the Congress.
However, Sahni’s post created quite a buzz in Patna circles, so he had to come up with another video soon. On Saturday night, Sahni posted a 29-second statement where he reaffirmed that he had no plans to quit the Mahagathbandan. “The grand alliance is unbreakable. We will write a new story of development and equality in Bihar along with the ideology of social justice of the respected Shri Lalu Yadav Ji,” he reiterated in the video.
Sahni has been demanding 30 seats and the post of Deputy Chief Minister within the Grand Alliance. He is also upset at how the Grand Alliance isn’t willing to give him his preferred seats of Muzaffarpur, Patna Sahib, Sahibganj, and Narkatiaganj.
Sahni, who has a strong hold with the Nishad (Mallah) community, is considered a kingmaker in Bihar. In the 2020 Assembly elections, he surprised everyone by winning 11 seats. He was part of the NDA then. He went on to become Minister of Animal Husbandry and Fisheries in the Bihar government.
India