PATNA: Vikassheel Insaan Party (VIP) chief Mukesh Sahani, who had fallen out with the BJP after he was sacked from the minister’s post, has extended his party’s support to the RJD in the upcoming Mokama and Gopalganj bye-elections.
“Bihar’s victory lies in the defeat of BJP,” Sahani said on Tuesday. The former Bollywood set designer also appealed to his supporters to vote in favour of Rashtriya Janata Dal candidates for both Assembly seats. RJD is led by Tejashwi Prasad Yadav who is also the deputy CM of Bihar. “VIP will not field its candidates on both seats but will work to ensure the defeat of BJP candidates in the bye-elections,” Sahani added.
The bye-elections, scheduled to be held on November 3, are being watched closely as this will be the first electoral battle since Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s JD(U) snapped ties with the NDA in August this year. RJD has fielded muscleman Anant Singh’s wife Neelam Devi and Mohan Prasad Gupta from Mokama and Gopalganj, respectively.
Launching a blistering attack on the Narendra Modi-led government over issues of unemployment and price rise of various commodities, Sahani said that his party’s fight against the BJP would continue. “My only objective is to ensure reservation for Nishad (fishermen) community at par with what the Scheduled Castes are entitled to,” he said. Sahani belongs to the Mallah or Kevat community that forms around 4.5 per cent of the state’s 30 per cent extremely backward classes.
First face-off since Nitish snapped ties with NDA
The bye-elections to be held on November 3, are being watched closely as this will be the first electoral battle since Bihar CM Nitish Kumar’s JD(U) snapped ties with the NDA and joined hands with RJD.