Bihar election: Why multiple deputy CMs could be named if Mahagathbandhan wins

The much-awaited press conference in Patna not only declared Tejashwi Yadav as the chief ministerial face of the Mahagathbandhan, but also announced Vikassheel Insaan Party (VIP) chief Mukesh Sahani as a deputy chief minister candidate. Congress leader and former Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot, who made the announcement, added that leaders from other communities may also be given the position of deputy chief minister if the alliance comes to power.

 

According to party insiders, Sahani has repeatedly raised the demand to be declared the deputy chief ministerial candidate. However, during internal discussions, concerns have been raised over such a move triggering requests from other caste communities to be accommodated. A Congress leader said, “During several meetings on seat distribution, Sahani has always insisted that he be announced as the deputy chief minister. Maybe it is also because he believes that the community he belongs to — the Mallahs, who constitute roughly 9.6 per cent of the total population — will vote for him in larger numbers if they see their caste leader getting a prominent position.”

 

The understanding between the alliance partners is that if the Mahagathbandhan comes to power, there could be two more deputy chief ministers — one from the Congress and one from the Left parties.

 

An RJD leader said, “For now, one name has been declared; others will be decided after the victory.” Within the RJD, there is apprehension that if there are multiple deputies, the influence of an individual deputy chief minister may get diluted.

 

“There are more factors that need to be considered for having more than one deputy CM— first, to ensure caste representation, and second, to distribute power between the other alliance partners. Technically, it should be the Congress alone getting the position, but one leader from the dalit community and another from the minority community may also be accommodated,” said the RJD leader.

 

Notably, the votes of the Mallah community (Nishads) have emerged as a decisive factor in several assembly constituencies, which is why Sahani’s political weight has grown within the alliance. During Rahul Gandhi’s “Vote Adhikar Yatra”, Sahani was among the few leaders who accompanied the Leader of the Opposition and was prominently projected as the representative face of the Mallah community.

 

This comes at a time when the alliance, which has largely relied on the Muslim-Yadav social equation, is planning to expand its social base by focusing on Dalits and OBCs (Mallahs) to gain electoral leverage in Bihar’s caste-dominated politics. A political analyst said, “Muslims and Yadavs together form more than 30 per cent of the total population. Now, they need to integrate more castes to broaden their base.” He said Sahani has been brought in to appeal to the Mallahs, while the Congress is trying to reach out to dalits, who constitute around 15 per cent of the state’s population. “This time, Muslims who previously voted for the JD(U) may not support them because of its alliance with the BJP, and that gives the Mahagathbandhan an edge.”

India