Tejashwi Yadav Issues Ultimatum to VIP Chief Sahani Ahead of Bihar Polls

With less than 31 hours remaining until the October 17 deadline for nominations in the first phase of Bihar's 2025 Assembly elections, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav has delivered a firm ultimatum to key ally Mukesh Sahni, chief of the Vikassheel Insaan Party (VIP), over seat-sharing demands. Sahni, seeking at least 24 seats in the 243-member Assembly and the post of Deputy Chief Minister in a potential Mahagathbandhan government, has been locked in tense negotiations with the opposition bloc.

Sources within the RJD indicate Yadav has capped VIP's allocation at around 15 seats—up from an earlier offer of 12—insisting this is the final proposal. The standoff threatens to unravel the alliance just as the NDA, led by Nitish Kumar's JD(U) and BJP, has finalised its pact, contesting 101 and 101 seats, respectively, with smaller partners like Chirag Paswan's LJP(RV) getting 29.

The Mahagathbandhan, comprising RJD, Congress, Left parties, and VIP, has been plagued by delays in seat allocation, marking a rare pre-poll discord stretching perilously close to the nomination window. The first phase covers 121 constituencies across 20 districts, including strongholds like Patna, Vaishali, and Muzaffarpur, with polling set for November 6 and results on November 14. Yadav's hard line comes after marathon talks, including a late-night session on October 10 that yielded no breakthrough, amid Sahni's aggressive posturing.

The VIP leader, who rejoined the bloc ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls after defecting from the NDA, has leveraged his visibility from joint campaigns with Rahul Gandhi and Yadav to demand a heftier share. In 2020, VIP contested 11 NDA seats, winning four, but three MLAs later defected to BJP, leaving Sahani isolated before his return to the opposition fold.

Sahni's community base among Bihar's Nishad (fishermen and boatmen) voters—estimated at 4-5% statewide—makes him a pivotal swing factor in over two dozen riverine constituencies. Earlier this month, he publicly asserted his Deputy CM claim, retorting to alliance scepticism: "If some are unwilling to accept Tejashwi as Chief Minister, does Bihar cease to function? The majority decides... Wherever Mukesh Sahani goes, that side forms the government." This echoes his 2020 NDA flip, where unmet demands for more seats prompted the switch.

Recent reports suggest Yadav has countered by engaging the All India Pan Mahasangh's I.P. Gupta, potentially diluting VIP's leverage among backward castes. Congress, eyeing 60-65 seats but offered as few as 61 with VIPs accommodated from its quota, has issued its own 24-hour ultimatum to RJD, fielding 17 candidates unilaterally on October 15 and hinting at openness to Jitan Ram Manjhi's HAM if talks collapse.

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The impasse risks fracturing the bloc's unity narrative, especially as Yadav files from Raghopur on October 15 amid chants of job guarantees and caste census promises. Political observers warn that a VIP exit could cede ground to NDA in key Nishad belts, boosting Nitish Kumar's appeal among EBCs. Yet, insiders remain optimistic: A breakthrough could see RJD contest 135 seats, Congress 61, the Left 29-31, and VIP 16, with Yadav as the declared CM face—a concession Congress has cryptically endorsed as "the people's decision".

As enumerators swarm Patna, the next few hours will determine if the Mahagathbandhan holds or splinters, potentially reshaping Bihar's bipolar contest ahead of the November showdown.

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