With the three VIP MLAs joining the BJP, saffron party’s tally in the state assembly has risen to 77 from the existing 74. It has now become the single largest party.
A HODA / PATNA
In a major political development in Bihar, all three MLAs of Vikassheel Insaan Party (VIP), led by Bihar minister Mukesh Sahani, joined the BJP making it the single largest party in the state.
With the three VIP MLAs joining the BJP, saffron party’s tally in the state assembly has risen to 77 from the existing 74. It has now become the single largest party, overtaking the RJD, which has 75 MLAs. The JD(U) has 45 MLAs, the Congress 19 and the Lefts parties have 15 MLAs.
The three MLAs — Rajoo Kumar Singh, Mishra Lal Yadav and Swarna Singh — met Vidhan Sabha Speaker Vijay Kumar Sinha on Wednesday and submitted a letter of support in favour of the BJP. In the Assembly elections in 2020, four VIP MLAs had won the poll and one of them, Musafir Paswan from Bochaha (Muzaffarpur), had died in November 2021.
The VIP is led by Mukesh Sahani who had fielded 57 candidates against the BJP in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly poll. He has also put up a candidate Geeta Devi against BJP’s Baby Kumari in the Bochaha Assembly bypoll scheduled to take place on April 12.
As VIP is an ally of the NDA in Bihar, there will be no difference in the total number of NDA MLAs in the state assembly. Sahani is an MLC whose term will expire in July. He is the Animal Husbandry and Fisheries Minister in the NDA government in Bihar led by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.
“We were earlier in the BJP and when our party leader Mukesh Sahani decided to contest against BJP candidate in Bochaha bypoll, we chose to make our ghar wapasi (home coming) to BJP,” Rajoo Singh said on Wednesday