Bihar is witnessing a high-decibel campaign ahead of the forthcoming Assembly elections. Key campaigners, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, are holding rallies across the state. Accusations and counter-accusations are being traded daily, leaving it to the people to separate fact from fiction in the fiery speeches delivered by these high-profile leaders.
The state goes to polls in two phases — on November 6 and 11.
Bihar, next only to Uttar Pradesh, has the largest migrant population in the country. Many migrants have begun returning home from different parts of the country to celebrate Chhath with their families. They are expected to stay on and cast their votes before heading back to their workplaces.
Bihar has turned into a battle of pride and prestige between the NDA and the Mahagathbandhan. The high-stakes contest is not just about who forms the next government in Patna but also about who captures the political narrative of India’s Hindi heartland.
Tejashwi Yadav has been officially projected as the chief ministerial candidate of the INDIA bloc, positioning him as the face of the alliance’s promise of generational change. The NDA, meanwhile, has reposed its faith in the incumbent Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, projecting him as its candidate once again — even as sections of the Opposition have questioned his health and political agility in recent months.
Meanwhile, both rival fronts — the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and the INDIA bloc — have released their manifestos. As always, manifestos are promises on paper; it is for the people to judge whether the Nitish Kumar government has delivered on its commitments, or whether, as NDA leaders warn, the state would return to “Jungle Raj” if Tejashwi Yadav is elected to power.
Now, when we look at the two manifestos, the NDA's document, titled "Sankalp Patra," emphasizes continuity, industrial growth and empowerment.
Terming the manifesto a “people-centric roadmap,” the Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary on Friday said the NDA’s vision was to make Bihar a hub of industry, education, and innovation while ensuring inclusive growth for all sections of society.
In contrast, the INDIA bloc’s manifesto, “Tejashwi Pran” (Tejashwi’s Vow), is built around a promise of transformation. Its slogan — “Sampoorna Bihar ka, Sampoorna Parivartan” — captures its call for change and generational renewal.
The INDIA bloc positions its manifesto as a break from what it calls “misrule” under the BJP-JD(U) alliance. It pledges to “free Bihar from corruption, unemployment, and fear,” and places Tejashwi Yadav at the center of that change narrative.
The NDA’s approach is more technocratic and stability-oriented, projecting Nitish Kumar’s experience and the alliance’s record of governance as Bihar’s pathway to sustained growth.
Employment dominates both manifestos, though their approaches differ sharply. The INDIA bloc promises a government job for one member of every family, an Employment Guarantee Scheme within 20 months, and the creation of IT Parks, SEZs, and agro-industrial hubs.
The NDA, in contrast, pledges one crore jobs through skill development and private sector growth, vowing to upgrade district skill centers into Global Skilling Hubs and attract Rs 50 lakh crore in investments to boost industrialization.
On welfare, the INDIA bloc leans on direct benefits—a Rs 2,500 monthly allowance for women, 200 units of free electricity, revival of the Old Pension Scheme, and lifting of the toddy ban to aid the Pasi community.
The NDA emphasizes empowerment through opportunity, promising to create “millionaire women entrepreneurs”, offer Rs 10 lakh assistance to EBCs, and ensure free education from kindergarten to postgraduate level with scholarships for Scheduled Caste students.
While the NDA lays out a detailed development roadmap centered on infrastructure and investment, the INDIA bloc focuses on equitable access to growth and welfare inclusion.
Both alliances highlight agriculture, but without clear strategies for increasing farm income or irrigation reform. The INDIA bloc stresses agro-industrial linkages, while the NDA aims to double agri-exports under its Made in Bihar initiative.
Both alliances promise to transform Bihar — one through welfare, the other through development. But neither provides clear answers on how these ambitious goals will be funded or implemented.