The Vikassheel Insaan Party (VIP) led by Mukesh Sahani drew a blank in the recently concluded Bihar Assembly elections in which he contested 12 seats backed by Mahagathbandhan partners, Rashtriya Janata Dal and Congress. Though the party has been struggling to establish a solid base in Bihar in the successive elections from the past eight years, the 2025 assembly polls was different. It has earned him pan Bihar visibility.
It was Rahul Gandhi’s “vote chori yatra” before the elections which carried Sahani in almost every rally and every public meeting. The alliance partners made sure that he gets mentioned and projected as a face of fishermen community which has traditionally been voting for the NDA. It was a well-designed strategy to tap the ethnic-based political sentiment of the state’s electorate and create a churn among 10 per cent population of fishermen community and subsequently lure them towards Mahagathbandhan.
Though the strategy did not work and the opposition bloc lost by a huge margin, his visibility and recognition increased. A political analyst said, “He may not have won but he has gained some recognition as a caste leader. And if the resentment against the government grows, and since the issues in Bihar remain intact as they have not been addressed sufficiently by the NDA government, he could become an important pillar of the Opposition in helping it broaden the caste equations of the Mahagathbandhan. He could perform more in the upcoming elections keeping his caste in view.”
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The party contested one more seat than it contested in 2020 but garnered less vote share than the last time, which shows that Sahani has not been able to penetrate deep in the minds of voters, even after the Mahagathbandhan announced him as the deputy chief minister face of the alliance. His party leaders think that this was the election where neither issues nor caste worked much, and what worked was the cash gifts to 1.5 crore women in the state just before the elections.
Dev Jyoti, national spokesperson of the VIP, said that there was no issue-based politics that worked on the ground, it was only money that worked in Bihar assembly elections. Even until the day before polling, the NDA doled out cash, he said. Money was distributed to women with assurances that more was coming, and that Rs 1.90 lakh would be deposited into their accounts within six months. “Now, if these promises are not fulfilled, we will launch a protest, and hit the streets,” he said.
The party has emerged as the runner-up in almost every seat it contested. Another political observer said, “Mukesh Sahani may have become a more familiar leader in Bihar but he has no cadre and no pan-Bihar appeal. Only thing that can help him actively in politics is his association with bigger parties. His vote bank can easily be on his side when he is with the NDA, but he has chosen Mahagathbandhan and wants to carve out his own voter base and that will only be possible with alliance backing. So, if RJD and Congress are able to maintain their attack on the government, he can be a catalyst in his caste community. Otherwise, he may not able to do much as a standalone leader.” |
