The job promises

The manifesto launched by the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) for the Bihar Assembly elections on Friday made multiple promises to the state’s people. But there was one that stood out, and was meant to stand out: Over 10 million jobs would be created if the NDA was voted back to power.

- TICKER MIHIR S SHARMA

When seen in context, this sounds dangerously like an admission of failure. A comparison with the Bharatiya Janata Party’s(BJP’s) manifesto in 2020 is instructive. In that one, it promised 1.9 million jobs if it was voted into government. Perhaps the fivefold expansion of this number reflects urgency or even anxiety? This is difficult to believe, given that all reports suggest that the NDA is otherwise quite confident of victory. Or does it respond to a hunger and desperation in the electorate that is at least five times greater than it was in 2020? None of these is a comfortable question for the BJP and its alliance.

The party-man then in charge of the state, Sanjay Jaiswal, had made it clear in 2020 that only 600,000 of that 1.9 million were in the public sector, and the rest would be well-paid private-sector jobs. Is it that parties are confident that voters will never hold them to account for their promises? Certainly, it is far from clear whether 1.9 million jobs have been created since the BJP entered the ruling alliance in Bihar — or even if 600,000 have been made available in the government sector.