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VIP's Mukesh Sahani suffers blow as Mahagathbandhan trails behind
Mukesh Sahani, founder of the Vikassheel Insaan Party projected his brother from his constituency Gaura Bauram while his party contests 18 seats.
As counting of votes continues in Bihar, national democratic alliance (NDA) leads by a comfortable margin of 159 votes as of 14.55 pm as Mahagathbandhan trails behind, leaving Vikassheel Insaan Party (VIP)'s founder Mukesh Sahani, who did not contest the elections himself but was projected the deputy chief minister face of the Mahagathbandhan, in distress.
NDA's Bharatiya Janata Party is leading in 92 seats, and Janata Dal (united) is leading in 83, while Mahagathbandhan's Rashtriya Janata Dal is leading in 26, Congress in 4 and CPI(ML)-L in 1 seats, at around 14.54 pm.
Mukesh's constituency Gaura Bauram is contested by his brother Santosh Sahni, hailing from the same party.
Gaura Bauram is being led by BJP's Sujit Kumar by a massive margin of 4418 votes as of the fifth round of counting around 12.38 pm, leaving Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD)'s Afzal Ali Khan and VIP's Santosh Sahni behind.
Mukesh Sahani has become one of the key players in the 2025 Bihar assembly election.
Sahani’s VIP is contesting 18 of the 243 seats in the Bihar assembly polls 2025.
Born in a poor Nishad family in Darbhanga district on March 31, 1981, Mukesh Sahani grew up facing severe financial hardships. He left home at the age of 18 and went to Mumbai in search of better opportunities. He had planned to go to Delhi but said in an interview that he landed in Mumbai because “the train going there came first”.
Sahani carved out a successful career as a set designer in Bollywood, working on high-profile films like ‘Devdas’. He ultimately founded his own company, Mukesh Cineworld Private Limited.
Sahani’s plunge into politics started out in 2013 when supported the BJP and the then-Prime Minister candidate Narendra Modi, even sharing stage with him after his election to the post, during the 2015 Bihar assembly polls. In 2018, he founded his party VIP and projected himself as “Son of Mallah” (boatman).
The fishermen community Sahani hails from belongs to the Extremely Backward Castes (EBCs). The EBCs constitute an estimated 29 per cent of the population of Bihar. The Mallahs or Nishads are about 4 per cent and have a good presence in Darbhanga, Madhubani, Khagaria and Muzaffarpur districts.
