In the charged political atmosphere of Bihar, the 2025 assembly elections are shaping up as a contest between Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s women-centric welfare strategy and RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav’s promise of job security. Both leaders are courting the same electorate but through different approaches, with Nitish offering cash transfers and empowerment schemes, and Tejashwi pledging permanent jobs and better pay.
In Samastipur’s Rampura village, 40-year-old Nirmala Devi recently received a ₹10,000 credit under the Mukhyamantri Mahila Rozgar Yojana. The money, deposited just before Chhath Puja, gave her a reason to celebrate. “This is a good amount. It will help us expand our business,” she said. Nitish Kumar’s government claims the initiative will reach over 12.1 million women, making it one of the largest direct benefit transfers in Bihar’s history.
This new scheme is part of a larger pattern. Over the years, Nitish has built a strong political base among women through measures such as 50 percent reservation for women in panchayats, the distribution of bicycles to schoolgirls, and increased honorariums for ASHA and anganwadi workers. In the new initiative, the government also plans to offer an additional ₹2 lakh loan to women entrepreneurs who repay the first installment successfully.
The opposition, however, is not impressed. RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav has dismissed the scheme as “social justice reduced to a loan.” He argues that the NDA-led government is trying to recover its declining popularity by issuing last-minute benefits. “What Nitish Kumar has given is a loan. He will recover it too. What we are offering, ₹2,500 monthly support, is real justice,” Tejashwi remarked, referring to his alliance’s Mai Behan Maan Yojana, which promises a monthly stipend to women if the INDIA bloc returns to power.
In contrast to Nitish’s short-term financial aid, Tejashwi’s focus is on long-term job security. Speaking in Patna, he announced that all contractual workers in government departments would be made permanent and that around 200,000 community mobilisers under the Jeevika Didi programme would receive a monthly salary of ₹30,000. “These Jeevika Didis have worked tirelessly for years, but the government treats them like temporary workers. We will make them permanent within 20 days of coming to power,” he declared.
He also promised health insurance coverage of ₹5 lakh, two years of interest-free credit, and an additional ₹2,000 allowance for Jeevika volunteers engaged in other government work. The move directly targets a critical voter group, Bihar’s network of rural women workers, who form the backbone of many of Nitish’s welfare schemes.
Nitish Kumar, who belongs to the Kurmi caste that makes up less than three percent of Bihar’s population, has relied heavily on women voters to sustain his political base since 2005. His ban on alcohol in 2016 was widely interpreted as a step to gain women’s support, and surveys in subsequent elections confirmed their strong backing for him. But after nearly 20 years in power, the demand for change is evident, especially among younger voters.
In villages like Ladura and Barheta, the mood seems divided. “Men in the villages are upset because the price of liquor has gone up, but women are happy because they don’t have to deal with drunk husbands,” said Asha Kumari, an anganwadi worker. Yet she added, “It’s time for new faces. We respect Nitishji, but twenty years is enough.”
Tejashwi Yadav’s campaign is attempting to channel this sentiment into a call for generational change. He often contrasts Nitish’s “loan culture” with his own vision of “employment and dignity.” “Our government will approve an ordinance within 20 days of being sworn in to make job security a reality,” he pledged.
BJP and JD(U) leaders have dismissed his promises as unrealistic. Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Chaudhary called Tejashwi’s plan a desperate electoral gimmick. “Twenty days for an ordinance and 20 months for jobs? That’s just a dream,” he said.
Still, the INDIA bloc’s strategy seems clear. It aims to combine women’s empowerment with employment guarantees to challenge Nitish’s long-standing social base. Meanwhile, Nitish and the NDA are trying to turn their governance experience into votes by launching schemes that deliver quick, visible results.
As the 2025 Bihar assembly election nears, one thing is evident: women will be the deciding factor. Whether they choose Nitish’s welfare-driven stability or Tejashwi’s promise of transformation will determine the political direction of the state.
The choice before women voters may come down to a simple question: security today or opportunity tomorrow.
