Thursday, 22 October 2020 | Rajesh Kumar | New Delhi
From a decision on enabling 10 lakh jobs in their very first Cabinet meeting if elected to power to building a grand “Sita Maiya” (Goddess Sita) temple in Sitamarhi like Ayodhya’s Ram Mandir, from promoting dairy on the pattern of Denmark to `1,500 monthly to unemployed youth, there are promises galore by the political parties in their manifestos or vision documents to lure the voters as the campaigning for the Bihar polls gain full momentum.
Bihar Assembly elections will be held in three phases — on October 28, November 3 and November 7 — and counting of votes will be held on November 10.
Despite being a part of the grand alliance, led by the RJD, the Congress on Wednesday came out with its own manifesto and referred it as “badlav patr” (letter of change). And, having decided to go it alone, Lok Janshakti Party chief Chirag Paswan unveiled the vision document of his party seeking to invoke the Bihari pride through his slogan, “Bihar first, Bihari first”.
For their part, NDA partners, Janata Dal (U) and the BJP, have released a report card containing the details of the work done by the Nitish Kumar Government in the State in the last 15 years and the work done by the Centre under PM Modi.
The NDA report card mentioned abrogation of Article 370 from Jammu & Kashmir, construction of Ram Mandir, and abolition of triple talaq as the major achievements. The alliance claims to have constructed roads connecting every village in Bihar at a cost of Rs 78,000 crore; providing every household with an uninterrupted power supply at a cost of Rs 55,600 crore and providing clean drinking water and sanitation for everyone incurring Rs 47,700 crore. The BJP and the JD(U) are yet to come out with their manifesto.
The Congress manifesto said, apart from promising Rs 1500 to unemployed youth every month, it will, like Punjab, pass a separate farm law in Bihar Assembly if voted to power. Carrying forward the idea of Rajiv Gandhi Krishi Nyaya Yojna – a direct cash transfer scheme envisaged during the Lok Sabha polls 2019 for farmers – the party said it will provide Rs 800 as honorary pension for the elderly and women in the State and Rs 1,000 for those above 80 years of age .
The Congress’ manifesto promises waiver of electricity bills up to 100 units, the restoration of 2.42 lakh teacher posts in 18 months and an increase in irrigation facilities also.
Earlier, Mahagathbandhan alliance in Bihar — the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), the Congress and the Left parties — released its poll manifesto for the Assembly election and promised 10 lakh jobs in the first Cabinet meeting if elected to power.
In the 20-point manifesto, the Congress has promised free education for girls up to masters degree, scooty for girl students scoring 90 per cent marks in Class 12th. The party has also tried to play a regional card by promising Maithili language to be included in the compulsory subject school syllabus. Importantly Mazdoor Information Center in the State capital has also been promised to allure migrant labourers, who had been a major sufferer during the lockdown. It has also promised to set up a clinic with a doctor and nurse in every panchayat under ‘Smart Gram Yojana’.
The LJP’s vision document titled, ‘Bihar first Bihari first”, seeks building of a grand ‘Sita Maiya’ temple in Sitamarhi to promote spiritual tourism on the lines of Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh. Building a web portal where employers and job-seekers can connect, constituting Yuva Commission, separate toilets for women in all the block headquarters, gram panchayat headquarters and markets are also among the main poll promises made in the manifesto — named as Vision Document 2020. The vision document also promises promoting dairy in Bihar on the pattern of Denmark, focusing on ‘equal pay for equal work’ for teachers, initiating a probe into irregularities committed in the ‘Seven Resolves’ initiative of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. Developing state-of-the-art medical and engineering institutions to prevent the youth from leaving the State also finds mention. The vision document talked about linking rivers to end the problem of flood and drought in the State. The document promised to set up a coaching city like that in Rajasthan’s Kota, if voted to power, so that students from Bihar do not have to migrate to cities in other States. The party promises free rides for women in Government buses.
