Why Mukesh Sahani as INDIA bloc’s deputy CM face in Bihar leaves Congress on sticky wicket

The Voter Adhikar Yatra, with Tejashwi Yadav and other INDIA leaders, was expected to give the Congress visibility and legitimacy.

After weeks of deliberations, the Mahagathbandhan declared RJD leader Tejashwi as its chief ministerial candidate and Vikassheel Insaan Party (VIP) chief Mukesh Sahani as the deputy CM face on Thursday.

Tejashwi being the CM pick, though delayed, was natural. However, the choice of Sahani indicated a shift in leadership dynamics in the alliance.

The RJD-led Mahagatbandhan is hoping to dislodge chief minister Nitish Kumar from power after the latter’s four consecutive terms. However, factors such as the infighting over choice of candidates and “friendly fights” in seats raises questions on whether the Congress is losing ground within Bihar’s opposition bloc.

Mukesh Sahani’s emergence

The VIP, originally part of the Mahagathbandhan, walked out of the coalition over disagreements on seat-sharing and RJD’s reluctance in prioritising smaller allies. He later joined the NDA  and was allotted 11 seats in the 2020 Bihar elections. Sahani lost his own seat, but his party managed to win four. Yet, VIP was left with no MLAs as one died within a year of his tenure while three others joined the BJP.

Naming Sahani as the deputy CM face was not easy for the Congress.  VIP held several rounds of talks over the seat-sharing arrangement for the upcoming Bihar assembly elections with the RJD. Sahani had been upset over not being given enough space in the coalition. His demands were on similar lines as earlier – 25 seats and the post of Deputy CM.

Tejashwi was reportedly not keen on Sahani. But Rahul Gandhi, who has been championing backward community causes, wanted Sahani, also known as “Son of Mallah”, to be a face of the alliance.

Sahani is a leader of the Nishad community which constitutes around 2.5 per cent of the state's population.

Seat-sharing woes

The  RJD is contesting 143 of the 243 seats of Bihar, Congress is contesting 61 seats, CPI(ML)-L is contesting 20, and the remaining seats are likely to go to Mukesh Sahani's VIP.

On Thursday, a group of Congress leaders, including former MLAs, staged a protest for being denied tickets at Sadakant Ashram, the Bihar office of the Congress.

“Those whom Rahul Gandhi had entrusted and sent here are from the five-star hotel culture, and they don't like to be brought down to poor ashrams here... We have only one demand, 'ticket chor, gaddi chod'... The selection process has lost its basis. Only eye wash remains now,” Congress worker Munna Shahi told ANI.

After the Congress CEC meeting on Bihar polls, a party  worker told Times of India that it was said that those people who will be on the screening committee, those who will have their online application will be given tickets. “But a few leaders like Krishna Allavaru and Rajesh Ram are making women work hard and go from door to door but cheating them at the end. The promise made by Rahul Gandhi, to honour the youth and women is being broken by Krishna Allavaru. We, the Congress workers, will not stand it. Bihar will not accept it.”

The Congress on Thursday also replaced Allavaru as Youth Congress chief and brought in Manish Sharma.

The internal tensions point to a widening gap between the Congress high command and its state unit. These events reveal cracks within the Congress and hurt its image in the poll-bound state.

Dismal performance in 2020

The Congress finds itself without a distinct bargaining chip. Its performance in the 2020 polls, where it contested 70 seats but won only 19, has weakened its ability to negotiate.

There are at least five seats where RJD and Congress candidates are currently in the fray against each other. On three others, the Congress is pitted against the CPI, a smaller alliance partner.

The current arrangement suggests a more RJD-centric alliance, with Tejashwi being named the CM face and Sahani indicating new social representation.

Impact of Voter Adhikar Yatra

The Bihar win is critical for Rahul Gandhi and Congress. This is why the Congress launched ‘Voter Adhikar Yatra’. The 14-day, 1,300-km-long march  concluded in Bihar's capital Patna in September.

The Voter Adhikar Yatra, with Tejashwi Yadav and other INDIA leaders, was expected to give the Congress visibility and legitimacy.

Congress and its allies alleged electoral malpractices by the BJP and accused the  Election Commission of “vote chori”.

The BJP dismissed the yatra as a “circus meant more for spectacle than policy impact”.  Over time as the EC rubbished his claim, Gandhi’s vote chori allegations died down. As a result, it failed to make a mark on voters’ mind.

While many say Gandhi wasted Tejashwi’s time by making the RJD leader participate in the march, others are apprehensive if the support of people would translate into votes in the upcoming Bihar election.