'Son of mallah' Mukesh Sahani matters in Bihar and is the last hurdle in MGB seat declaration

The “son of Mallah” is showing his strength to his bigger allies ahead of the high-staked Bihar assembly polls, But even as the BJP is sending out feelers to him, the Mahagathbandhan feels that he won't go anywhere.

- SHIKHA SALARIA

While the larger allies RJD and Congress feel that “past experiences” may stop Mukesh Sahani from doing a repeat of 2020 - he had stormed out of the grand alliance after his Vikassheel Insan Party (VIP) was offered no seats, his bargaining tactics have definitely made his allies nervous.

His latest demanddeclare him a deputy CM facehas now nudged a section of the Mahagathbandhan leaders to spread information in friendly media that there will be three deputy CMs if the alliance is chosen to power. No official statement has been made on the same.

From 60 to 35 seatshow VIP's demands have come down

While the VIP chief had been demanding as many as 60 seats from the MGB initially, Sahani has now lowered his demands to around 35 seats or a little over 30.

But his demand that he be declared as the deputy CM face has made his alliance partners nervous, especially the Congress.

So much so that a section of Bihar Congress leaders are of the opinion that Sahani is raking these demands on the RJD’s signal.

‘There is a larger understanding within the Congress that no CM or deputy CM face be declared by the Mahagathbandhan before elections. However, Sahani has repeatedly insisted that RJD founder Lalu Prasad Yadav's son Tejashwi Yadav will be the CM if the Mahagathbandhan comes to power, the deputy CM will be “son of a mallah (fisherman)’- a community to which Sahani belongs.

“The name of the captain is yet to be declared but the vice-captain has already claimed his post,” a Bihar Congress leader quipped.