Bihar Assembly Elections 2025: PM Modi doles out Rs 7500 crore for women, Priyanka makes her own pitch

'NDA government has been in Bihar for the last 20 years. Why did they never give Rs 10,000 each in the earlier two decades', Priyanka said and promised land for every landless family in the state if voted to power

Patna: In yet another sop for the women of poll-bound Bihar, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday launched Mukhyamantri Mahila Rojgar Yojna to support women entrepreneurs and transferred Rs 10,000 each to 75 lakh women.

This way Rs 7500 crore were transferred to the beneficiaries in one of the biggest cash incentives for those with business ideas.

“This is just the beginning. Once you formalise your business plan, our officers will visit you, and, if satisfied with your business ideas, an additional assistance of Rs 2 lakh will be transferred to you,” said Modi, exhorting women to become self-reliant and help India progress by leaps and bounds.

“You now have two brothers – Modi and Nitish – who have pulled you out from the age of darkness,” said Modi, in his virtual address from New Delhi while releasing the cash incentive.

“Now it’s your responsibility to ensure that the lantern-holders (in an oblique reference to the RJD, whose election symbol is lantern) are never returned to power as its the NDA government which ensured your safety (by putting an end to jungle raj), your prosperity (by ensuring 35 per cent reservation for women in Bihar government jobs) and your upward mobility in the society (by reserving seats in the civic polls) and your self-respect (by enforcing prohibition which ended verbal and physical abuse to women),” said Modi.

Nitish brainchild

This fund transfer, a brainchild of Nitish Kumar, was originally scheduled to be launched by Bihar Chief Minister on September 22 but the BJP leaders in the State convinced Nitish that if PM doles out sops for women, it will have more larger impact in the election year and, therefore, September 26 was finalised for doling out the ‘sop-opera’ by PM Modi.

Congress counter-point

Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi, who was in Patna and later addressed a rally in Motihari, questioned Modi for the largesse on the eve of the elections.

“The elections are hardly a month away. By giving Rs 10,000 each as cash incentive to 75 lakh women on the eve of the poll is a classic example of attempting to win women votes.

"This NDA Government has been in Bihar for the last 20 years. Why did they never give Rs 10,000 each in the earlier two decades,” wondered Priyanka while interacting with women workers at the Congress headquarters – Sadaquat Ashram – in Patna on Friday.

“The Congress, if voted to power, will ensure that every landless family in Bihar gets around 5 decimals of land and the ownership will be in the name of women,” said the Congress MP from Wayanad, amid applause from the gathering. She reiterated her promise at the party rally in Motihari from where she sounded poll bugle for the Congress.

“Both the camps – the NDA as well as the I.N.D.I.A. bloc - are busy wooing women electorate as there are 3.7 crore women voters out of total 7.2 crore electorate in Bihar,” remarked political scientist Ajay Kumar.