Tejashwi Yadav Named INDIA Bloc’s CM Face, Mukesh Sahani as Deputy CM Pick Triggers Row Over Muslim Representation in Bihar

The nomination of RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav as the INDIA bloc’s Chief Ministerial candidate and VIP chief Mukesh Sahani as the Deputy Chief Ministerial face has sparked a new debate over electoral equations in Bihar.

Many Muslim leaders have criticised this decision of the INDIA Alliance on social media, demanding representation proportional to their population.

The debate gained momentum today as LJP (Ram Vilas) president Chirag Paswan raised the issue through a post on the social media platform X and called Muslims “bonded vote banks”.

He wrote, “In 2005, my leader and father, the late Ram Vilas Paswan, even sacrificed his own party to make a Muslim the Chief Minister, yet you did not support him. RJD was not ready for a Muslim Chief Minister in 2005, and even in 2025, they are neither ready to make a Muslim CM nor a Deputy CM. If you continue to remain a bonded vote bank, how will you ever get respect and participation?”

Earlier, Chirag Paswan told the media, “Tejashwi Yadav belongs to the Yadav community, which makes up about 13 percent of the population, while Mukesh Sahani belongs to the Sahani community, which is around 2 percent. Despite that, the 18 percent Muslim population has not been given a share in power. These people only know how to scare Muslims and use emotional issues to get their votes. They never intended to give real representation.”

AIMIM spokesperson Asim Waqar said, “In Bihar, the Yadav community makes up 13 percent, but now they are telling smaller castes like the 4 percent Kushwahas, 6 percent Koeris, and 2 percent Sahanis to vote for them, promising a Deputy CM post in return. To the 18 percent Muslim population, they say, "We’ll save you from BJP’s conspiracies.’”

On the issue of a minority Deputy Chief Minister, Tejashwi Yadav said, “The son of an extremely backward community has been announced as the Deputy CM, and that’s what the BJP cannot digest. They are upset about it. We have already announced that more Deputy CMs will be named after Mukesh Sahani. We’ll address the concerns of those who are unhappy.”

VIP founder Mukesh Sahani said, “The BJP need not worry. This is the same BJP that once told our minority brothers to leave India and go elsewhere. Now, they are the ones who are afraid. The people of Bihar will soon give them an answer.”

He added, “We will take care of the minorities, the BJP doesn’t need to worry about them. They have leaders like Shahnawaz Hussain, let them think about their own. The BJP should stop doing politics of hate and start working in the interest of the country.”