By Amarnath Tewary
Copyright thehindu
Ahead of the upcoming Assembly elections in Bihar, Leader of the Opposition Tejashwi Yadav on Saturday once again targeted Chief Minister Nitish Kumar over his age and health, while reminding voters of welfare schemes promised by the Opposition mahagathbandhan (grand alliance) for extremely backward classes (EBCs) in the election-bound State.
“Nitish Kumar is no longer fit to run Bihar. He has grown old. Bihar needs to develop at a fast pace. We have to build a new Bihar,” Mr. Yadav said in a clarion call at the Karpoori Ati Pichhda Adhikar Samvad (Karpoori Extremely Backward Rights Dialogue), held at the Veterinary College ground in Patna. According to the 2022 Bihar caste survey, the EBC population stands at 36.01%, the highest among all caste groups and communities in the State.
Accusing the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) of exploiting the EBCs, Mr. Yadav said, “They [NDA] not only used them [EBC] but cheated them as mere a vote bank,” vowing that under an Rashtriya Janata Dal-led mahagathbandhan government, they would become a “power bank”. He asserted that change was “bound to happen” this time in Bihar.
Earlier, on September 25, at a similar programme – Ati Pichhda Nyay Sankalp (Extremely Backward Justice Resolve) – in Patna, Mr. Yadav had highlighted the Mai Bahin Maan Yojna (Mother-Sister Respect Scheme). “If we come to power, this scheme will be launched across Bihar. This time everyone wants change, and change will happen,” he said. The scheme promises monthly financial assistance of ₹2,500 to financially vulnerable women if the mahagathbandhan comes to power.
He had also attacked the NDA government as a “nakalchi [copycat] government lacking vision” for announcing programmes earlier proposed by his party.
On September 26, Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the State-funded Mukhyamantri Mahila Rojgar Yojna, under which ₹10,000 was transferred directly into the bank accounts of 75 lakh women – amounting to ₹7,500 crore. Bihar has about four crore women, of whom over one crore have registered under the scheme.
Later the same day, Congress leader and MP Priyanka Gandhi, addressing women at the party headquarters in Patna’s Sadaqat Ashram and at a public meeting in Motihari, East Champaran, announced that a mahagathbandhan government would provide 3-5 decimals of land in their name to all landless women.
“Though it is retreating monsoon season in Bihar, political parties in the poll-bound State are raining sops for the voters. Let’s see how much dividend they get in the elections out of it,” quipped political analyst N.K. Choudhary.
Meanwhile, newly appointed Bihar incharge of the Bharatiya Janata Party Dharmendra Pradhan, along with party leaders, launched a door-to-door campaign in Patna on Saturday to connect directly with voters. Union Home Minister Amit Shah concluded his two-day visit to the State after addressing a public meeting at Forbesganj in Seemanchal district of Araria, where he pledged to “oust every infiltrator” from Bihar. Araria, along with Kishanganj, Purnea and Katihar, has a sizeable Muslim population, which together accounts for about 65% of the electorate in the region.
