Bihar votes for jobs, not just jatis

The NDA and I.N.D.I.A. bloc promise jobs, pensions and women’s allowances as poll narrative shifts from caste arithmetic to economic deliverables.

The campaign rhetoric during elections in Bihar is dominated by ‘Sushashan’ (good governance) and ‘jungle raj’ and spiced up by the chatter of ‘samajik nyay’ (social justice) and ‘aarthik vikas’ (economic development)’ as the state continues to fare low on socio-economic indicators.

Both the ruling NDA and the opposition I.N.D.I.A bloc or the ‘Mahagathbandhan’ promise to perform better than their rival in taking Bihar to a destination that has remained distant for it so far, with a slew of measures that they believe will transform the state.

It is a state that churns out bureaucrats and politicians but still lacks in job opportunities and industrial development, prompting the young and the old to migrate out looking for livelihood. Rich and poor alike also leave the state for education and even to get medical care.

While Biharis could boast of politically empowering several sections of society by giving representation in governance, one of the major impediments before them is economic empowerment. Infrastructure development is still restricted to the urban centres, while high-end educational and health facilities are available for a few.

It is not that Bihar saw no progress in the past decades. Political commentator Amitabh Tiwari acknowledges this but says that when one compares it with what other states have achieved during this period, it is clear that there is a lot that needs to be done in Bihar.

In an age of intense scrutiny, parties that rule the state and aspire to govern know this and commit to a new set of promises every five years. The youth are worried about their prospects, while an aspiring class is impatiently waiting for upward mobility.

Apart from caste and community-specific targeting, parties also cater to the wishes of youth and women, who form a substantial chunk of voters.

People below 40 years account for 3.93 crore or nearly 53% of the 7.45 crore electorate, while women account for 3.5 crore or 47%. Though there are only 891 (phase 1) and 894 (phase 2) female voters for every 1,000 male voters, more women than men exercise their franchise.

Keeping this in mind, parties and coalitions have made several promises – from increasing social security pensions to jobs to women-centric allowances. If the I.N.D.I.A bloc has promised a monthly allowance at the rate of Rs 2,500 for women, besides providing the ‘Jeevika Didis’ permanent jobs, the NDA has promised a one-time deposit of Rs 10,000, a seed money for starting a business.

“The promises of increasing pension or monthly allowances for women are nothing new. Only the amounts are tinkered. Nitish Kumar has not fallen into the trap of monthly allowances because he realises that when states like Maharashtra and Karnataka, which are well off, are struggling to pay these allowances, a state like Bihar would struggle further,” Tiwari told DH.

Not to say that themes like ‘infiltrators’, dynasty, ‘vote chori’, and caste have exited the campaign lexicon, but one of the major talking points this time is jobs.

In 2020, RJD’s Tejashwi Yadav made it a talking point, and he is trying to do it this time too. Tejashwi accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of taking “factories to Gujarat” and seeking “victory in Bihar”. The RJD chief promised government jobs for one in every family in the state. Home Minister Amit Shah lamented that there was not enough land available for industrial development. But Congress leader Rahul Gandhi countered it, questioning the NDA government’s decision to give land to the Adani Group at Rs 1 per acre.

“All are talking about tackling unemployment, but I am not seeing how they are going to do it. Neither the NDA nor the Mahagathbandhan has a clear road map for that. The question is how all these will be funded. Nobody has a tangible solution to tackle unemployment,” Tiwari added.

The question now is whether all promises will remain just poll-time rhetoric or whether there will be a real change.