Jobs, women in focus as NDA releases its manifesto for Bihar

The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) on Friday released its manifesto for the Bihar assembly polls, promising jobs to 10 million people, making 10 million “Lakhpati Didis”, metro train services in four cities and seven international airports in the state, hiking the cash transfer to farmers to ₹9,000, and sops for extremely backward classes and scheduled castes and tribes.

- Arun Kumar

Seven expressways, 10 industrial parks, free quality education from kindergarten to the postgraduate stage, and ₹2,000 monthly assistance for Dalit and tribal students pursuing higher education were some of the other features of the 69-page manifesto.

The NDA also pledged to set up a world-class medicity, one medical college in each district, continuation of free ration, free treatment up to %5 lakh and five million more pucca houses, and renaming the Punaura Dham pilgrimage site as Sitapuram.

The manifesto was released at a press conference attended by Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar, deputy CM Samrat Choudhary, BJP president JP Nadda, Union ministers Dharmendra Pradhan, Jitan Ram Manjhi, Chirag Paswan, and leaders of alliance partners.

“This manifesto is a document of our commitment to the welfare of farmers, employment for the youth, empowerment of women, infrastructure development, establishing new enterprises, and building a developed and self-reliant Bihar, Nadda posted on X.

The announcement came days after the Opposition Grand Alliance promised a government job per family within 20 days of coming to power, permanent jobs for women in self-help groups and contractual workers within 20 months, monthly financial aid to women, scrapping the central waqf law, and exempting toddy from the prohibition net.