Bihar Election 2025: VIP leader Mukesh Sahani broke down in tears ahead of Phase‑1 voting, expressing anguish over political betrayal and urging supporters to stand united for the Nishad community.(Image Credit: X/Mukesh Sahani)
Bihar Election 2025: VIP chief Mukesh Sahani, Mahagathbandhan's deputy chief ministerial face, came along with his family to a polling station in Darbhanga when Phase 1 voting began and cast his vote amidst high emotions.
Sahani's appearance at the booth came after an earlier, widely shared Facebook Live in which he had broken down in tears as he appealed to supporters to keep faith with the cause he says he has fought for over a decade.
After voting, Mukesh Sahani struck a defiant tone, urging supporters to defeat those who, he said, betrayed the community and “stole” their legislators.
Sahani told the electorate that he had fought his way to this point and now expected his followers to stand with him: “I myself have fought to reach here; now you will have to come along.” He also repeated that if the electorate delivered victory, a son of the Nishad community would become deputy chief minister.
On the evening before Phase 1 polling, Mukesh Sahani went live on Facebook and became visibly emotional. He spoke of an 11 year struggle, of personal sacrifices he said he had made even selling assets for the cause of his community.
Sahani appealed directly to supporters to honour a pledge taken with sacred water (“gangajal”) that if reservation demands were not met, they would withhold votes.
That sense of betrayal and the fear of vote fragmentation in the Nishad community were the clear triggers for his tears and his impassioned plea.
Sahani's emotional appeal was both personal and strategic. On one level, it reflected the pressure he feels as a community leader who has raised expectations among Nishads and other groups.
On another level, the tears were meant to be a mobilising signal: a dramatic call to keep the Nishad vote united amid seat-sharing tensions and competing promises. His message asked supporters to translate emotion into disciplined turnout at the booths.
From grassroots organiser to the head of the Vikassheel Insaan Party, Mukesh Sahani pulls no punches in representing his Nishad community of boatmen/fishing folk in pressing for political representation, reservation, and executive office.
In the run-up to the 2025 polls, he was named the Mahagathbandhan's prospective deputy chief ministerial candidate, a recognition of the political leverage his party brings to alliance arithmetic. His candidature and emotive appeal make him a pivotal player in close constituencies.
