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PATNA: The BJP's cast of star campaigners in Bihar includes a name unfamiliar to many outside Bihar: Mukesh Sahni . This 35-year-old’s travel itinerary is publicized along with those of saffron A-listers. Sahni gets to speak from the same dais as PM Narendra Modi and most party candidates want a piece of him.That’s because they consider Sahni -- who proudly proclaims he is the "son of Mallah" -- a crucial catch and key to their plan to net a group of castes that depend on the numerous rivers in the state for their livelihood. The Mallahs, Sahnis, Nishads, Binds, Gangotas and a few others, are castes of fishermen and boatmen and make up 5% of the population. They are also part of the larger grouping of extremely or most backward castes (EBCs/MBCs) who are likely to prove decisive in the keenly-fought contest.Sahni, a resident of Supaul Bazar village in Darbhanga district, was 19 when he ran away from home to Mumbai in 1999, to accompany a friend who had more compelling reasons to flee. Sahni soon returned to his father, Jitan Ram, but left again after six months, because he missed the "freedom" he experienced in Mumbai. This time his father was in the loop.After working as a salesman at a cosmetics store, Sahni drifted into the business of making sets for films and TV shows. He met with success early and that spurred him to launch Mukesh Cineworld Private Limited. Successful partnerships with some of the better-known names in the business, like Nitin Desai and Umang Kumar, followed. His big moment was when Desai hired him to work on the sets of Shahrukh Khan-starrer 'Devdas'.In a conversation with TOI, Sahni proudly said he was involved in building sets for TV show Big Boss and for Sooraj Barjatya's comeback film 'Prem Ratan Dhan Payo' with Salman Khan in the lead. Sahni said he also worked with Sandeep Khosla, when the designer put up a show for billionaire Mukesh Ambani.But for all his success, Sahni would have remained an unknown face in Bihar had it not been for a chance meeting with a group of his caste members at a wedding he attended in his village, while on a visit. Community members told him that while he had done well for himself in the glamour world, he needed to do something for his impoverished brethren too. Their appeal coincided with the efforts of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar to develop a constituency among EBCs. That’s when Sahni decided to take part in electoral politics.He began with a successful rally at Raj Maidan in Darbhanga in 2014 and attracted the attention of various parties from the start. His profile rose sharply as he hired a helicopter to ferry the Mallahs to a rally he organized in Patna earlier this year. The chopper rides made him familiar to members of his community. Mallahs from both Jolbigha and Sauda Musahari in Nalanda district, located quite far from Darbhanga, proudly mention that they have been to his Patna event.The JD(U) sent Sahni feelers and he eventually had a meeting with Nitish Kumar. However, that did not lead to a partnership, because of a dispute over who got to contest from Gaura Bauram seat in Darbhanga district. Sahni then warmed to overtures from the BJP, which promptly recruited him.JD(U) leaders don't believe Sahni's decision to go with the BJP is a loss for them. The BJP, meanwhile, is banking on Sahni for the votes of Mallahs in Jolbigha and Sauda Musahari.