Mukesh Sahni, a pivotal figure in the Bihar Assembly elections, was engaging in political bargaining favorably before the elections as both doors were open for him. News of his closeness with the NDA emerged, but eventually, he joined the Grand Alliance, securing his spot as Deputy CM while endorsing Tejashwi as the CM candidate. Throughout 2022 and beyond, he was consistently seen sharing the stage with Tejashwi Yadav, their closeness suggesting that Sahni was choosing the Grand Alliance to reinforce his social base within Bihar's political landscape.
In pre-election seat allocations, the chief of the Vikasheel Insaan Party (VIP), Mukesh Sahni, staked a claim on 60 seats, eventually agreeing to 15 after considerable negotiation. In the 2020 Assembly elections, VIP contested on 11 seats. Remarkably, Sahni even managed to secure three seats from the Grand Alliance by presenting himself as the leading face of the 'Nishad Samaj' before the Lok Sabha elections.
However, the latest Assembly election results indicate a shrinkage of VIP's political space. Not a single seat was secured. Despite fielding candidates on 15 seats and his previous grand declarations, Mukesh Sahni couldn't open an account, even while being visibly close to Tejashwi Yadav during the election campaigns.
Mukesh Sahni's confidence grew to the extent that he declared himself the Deputy CM from the Grand Alliance before the elections. While wins and losses are part of elections, the stark rejection from Bihar's populace raises questions about Mukesh Sahni being a weak link in the Grand Alliance. Further, with these results, his political journey ahead appears challenging.
In the 2020 Assembly elections, Sahni initially attempted to join the Grand Alliance, but he aligned with the NDA and his party contested on 11 seats, winning on 4, and Sahni was appointed a minister in the Bihar government. However, all three of his MLAs later joined BJP.
In recent years, Sahni focused on expanding his party's organization to the grassroots level. His influence among the youth and the fisherman's community remains notable. Nonetheless, relying solely on such aspects cannot guarantee electoral success, evident from the outcome of the 2025 Bihar elections where he failed to secure any wins.
Mukesh Sahni's life has been filled with struggles. Born into a modest fisherman's family in Darbhanga, he carved his identity. Initially a film set designer in Mumbai, he had a sudden political awakening and founded his political party, Vikasheel Insaan Party (VIP), in 2018. The party's demographic includes the fisherman society (Nishad Samaj) and the boatmen community in Bihar. He has consistently voiced the concerns of backward, extremely backward, particularly the Nishad Samaj communities.
