Patna, Apr 5 (PTI) Former Bihar minister Mukesh Sahni on Friday joined RJD-led Mahagathbandhan in the state, less than three years after he had quit the alliance to join the NDA.
The announcement came at a press conference addressed by RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav along with Sahni, a Bollywood set designer turned politician who heads Vikassheel Insan Party (VIP).
Yadav said, “Seat-sharing formula has already been announced for the INDIA bloc in Bihar. The RJD has got 26 seats. We will give three from our quota to Sahni’s party.” Notably, in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, the VIP had contested as a Mahagathbandhan ally, but ahead of state assembly elections a year later, Sahni quit the alliance and joined the NDA.
In the new government headed by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, Sahni became a minister, understandably at the instance of the BJP, which also helped him become a member of the legislative council since he had failed to get elected to the assembly.
Sahni, who uses the sobriquet “son of mallah” to project himself as a leader of castes traditionally involved in fishing, was expelled from the cabinet after he rubbed the BJP the wrong way while campaigning for his party in Uttar Pradesh.
Subsequently, all four VIP MLAs also joined the BJP while Sahni was left high and dry after his legislative council term ended, shortly after his expulsion from the cabinet. PTI NAC BDC
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