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Bihar assembly elections: MGB smaller allies draw mixed outcomes
The elections delivered contrasting outcomes for MGB’s smaller constituents, with some securing a single seat and others not being able to open their account
The Bihar elections delivered contrasting outcomes for the Mahagathbandhan’s smaller constituents, with the Indian Inclusive Party (IIP) securing one of the three seats it contested while the Vikassheel Insaan Party (VIP), led by Opposition deputy chief ministerial face Mukesh Sahani, drew a blank in the 15 constituencies it contested.
The Opposition Grand Alliance, or Mahagathbandhan, is led by the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and the Congress, along with five other smaller constituents –– IIP, VIP, CPI-ML (Liberation), CPI(M) and CPI.
Along with the one seat secured by IIP –– party chief Indrajeet Prasad Gupta defeated Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) Alok Ranjan in Saharsa, the remaining four minor parties in the bloc combined to win three. The CPI-ML(Liberation), which had won 12 seats in 2020, could win only two seats and the CPI(M) won one.
VIP chief Mukesh Sahani, however, faced the biggest setback, having projected himself as a leader of the Nishad community, which features the Mallahs as a sub-caste. Sahani, who was unsuccessful in his previous two electoral outings, was named as the Opposition bloc’s deputy chief ministerial face and was bestowed with the responsibility of steering the alliance’s boat with RJD’s Tejashwi Yadav at the helm.
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Sahani had initially bargained for 20 seats during seat-sharing negotiations among alliance partners before fielding candidates in 15 constituencies. On Friday, none of his party’s candidates secured a victory.
“The fact that the VIP failed to win a single seat only indicates how the party does not command a big clout among its voterbase of Nishads... It reflects that Nishads and other non-OBC and EBC groups voted for the NDA in big chunks,” Vijay Kumar, a Patna-based poll observer said.
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After the initial poll trends showed the NDA taking a sizeable lead, Sahani said he respects the mandate given by the people of Bihar. “We had no idea of such a mandate coming in these polls based on our ground assessment. We will review the results,” he added.
The CPI, having contested nine seats, including friendly fights with allies such as Congress in three seats, also failed to win a single seat, unlike in 2020 when it had won two seats. The CPI(M) managed to win only one seat having contested four seats in this election.
“This election was all about money and doles. We probably could not match it leading to our debacle,” said Lallan Choudhary, state secretary of the CPI(M).
