Mukesh Sahani is Mahagathbandhan's deputy CM face in Bihar. Who is he?
Mukesh Sahani's name as the Opposition alliance's deputy CM was announced by senior Congress leader Ashok Gehlot.
The opposition alliance in Bihar, also called Mahagathbandhan, has announced Vikassheel Insaan Party chief Mukesh Sahani as the deputy chief minister face of the alliance for the upcoming Bihar assembly elections.
Meanwhile, former Bihar deputy chief minister and Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Tejashwi Yadav has been named as the Mahagathbandhan's chief minister face for the upcoming polls.
Also read: Tejashwi Yadav named Mahagathbandhan's CM face ahead of Bihar polls
Mukesh Sahani's name as the Opposition alliance's deputy CM face was announced by senior Congress leader Ashok Gehlot on Thursday in Bihar. After the announcement, Sahani said that he and his party were waiting for this moment for over three years. He also expressed confidence that the Grand Alliance will win the Bihar assembly polls and form the government in the state.
“I was awaiting this moment for 3.5 years. The moment has now come. Not just VIP or Mukesh Sahani, lakhs of people of the party were waiting for this. BJP broke our party and poached our MLAs…At that time, we had pledged with Ganga jal in our hands - ‘BJP ko jab tak hum todenge nahi, tab tak chhoddenge nahi’," he said.
“Time has come, standing strong with Mahagathbandhan, we will form our Govt in Bihar and oust BJP from the state. Mahagathbandhan is united and strong. In the time to come, we will work and form our Government,” he added.
Who is Mukesh Sahani?
Mukesh Sahani, the founder of Vikassheel Insaan Party, had announced last week that he will not contest in the assembly election and will instead campaign for the party candidates and the Grand Alliance coalition in Bihar. He named his brother Santosh Sahani to fight from the Gaura Bauram seat where he was expected to file his nomination from.
“I have opted not to contest polls this time. I will campaign for the party’s nominees and also for the Grand Alliance,” Mukesh Sahani had told reporters in Darbhanga.
Back then, he had also expressed his desire to become the deputy chief minister of Bihar if the Grand Alliance comes to power.
Sahani's VIP is a key partner in the Grand Alliance and it came to a seat-sharing agreement with Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD)-Congress-Left combine to contest 15 seats in the upcoming assembly polls.
Even though Sahani has not won a single election so far, he has become a crucial face in Bihar politics over the years. He contested from Simri Bakhtiarpur seat in 2020 assembly polls in Bihar, but lost to the RJD candidate.
However, he went on to become a minister in the Nitish Kumar-led state cabinet and held the ministry for fishery and animal husbandry portfolio. In 2022, he was sacked by Kumar over his repeated remarks against Bharatiya Janata Party, particularly after three of his party MLA had defected to the BJP.
