Bihar CM Nitish Kumar to focus on Tejashwi’s agenda: Jobs

Aware of the fact that it survived a major setback this election after it could scrape through in a couple of seats at the last moment, the Nitish Kumar regime is now focusing on the main poll plank in Bihar: Jobs.

The General Administration Department (GAD) has reportedly issued a letter to all the departmental heads to inform in detail about the number of vacancies, number of contractual employees, regular employees, total strength, sanctioned posts for contractual/permanent staff and other relevant details of their respective departments.

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Sources said since GAD is being held by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar himself, the ball will be set rolling soon for appointments of at least two lakh employees in different departments and ministries in the new year.

Ever since the Mahagatbandhan Chief Ministerial candidate Tejashwi Yadav made unemployment the main poll issue and promised 10 lakh jobs if voted to power, Nitish too is now focusing on the issue raised by Tejashwi, although he had then made fun of the Opposition leader and questioned the rationale behind such bulk appointment.

“From where and how will you bring such large sum to pay all these new appointees? ‘Jail se laoge paisa’? (Will you bring money from jail?),” Nitish had remarked during the poll campaign in an oblique reference to Tejashwi’s father Lalu Prasad, who is behind the bars in Ranchi on corruption charges.

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Tejashwi did not join the issue but kept reiterating that there was 46 per cent unemployment in Bihar and he would “provide 10 lakh jobs in the first Cabinet meeting itself, if voted to power.”

Although Tejashwi-led Mahagatbandhan narrowly failed to get majority, Nitish, having faced the heat during the entire poll campaign, has now deemed it fit to focus on jobs. The BJP, too, had promised in its manifesto to provide 19 lakh jobs to the unemployed.

“In 2021, around two lakh new appointments may take place in Bihar. This includes 4600 assistant professors, 3270 health department employees, 1050 junior engineers, 3000 polytechnic college staff, besides around 27,000 cops in Bihar police,” a senior official told Deccan Herald, adding that number of vacancies may increase after getting feedback from different departments.