Introducing reservation in private sector jobs, cash for women under the proposed Mai Bahan Samman Yojana, financial assistance to promote self-employment to curb migration, and better healthcare facilities are among the key promises the Opposition INDIA bloc in Bihar is likely to include in its common manifesto for the upcoming assembly elections, people familiar with the matter said on Wednesday
The INDIA bloc in Bihar – comprising RJD, Congress, VIP, and left parties- is hoping to unseat the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA).
Leaders of INDIA bloc partners, who held a marathon meeting at the state Congress headquarters – Sadaqat Ashram – in Patna over the last two days, broadly arrived at a consensus on the common manifesto for the assembly polls scheduled for October-November this year, a senior functionary of the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) said.
“Draft manifesto will be finalised at the next meeting of the manifesto sub-committee, likely around July 15, for submission to the coordination committee of INDIA bloc,” RJD lawmaker Sudhakar Singh, who is also a member of the manifesto sub-committee, said.
The sub-panel has prioritised education, employment, healthcare and social welfare sectors in the manifesto to counter the electoral narrative of the chief minister Nitish Kumar-led NDA.
A Congress leader said that the alliance partners focused on policies targeting the youth, women, and marginalised communities in the state. Proposals such as a monthly assistance of ₹2,500 for every woman, free healthcare coverage up to ₹25 lakh, and increasing monthly social security pension to at least ₹1,500 were accepted by the alliance partners to be included in the manifesto, the leader, who was part of the discussion, said.
The leaders also agreed to demand for introducing reservation in private sector as well as increasing the overall reservation in the state to 65%, a senior RJD leader said, requesting anonymity.
Earlier, leader of Opposition in the state assembly and RJD leader Tejashwi Prasad Yadav in a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in May this year had pitched for reservation in the private sector.
“The private sector, which has been a major beneficiary of public resources, cannot remain insulated from social justice imperatives. Companies have received substantial benefits-land at concessional rates, power subsidies, tax exemptions, infrastructure support, and various financial incentives all funded by taxpayer money,” Yadav said in a letter to PM, dated May 2. “In return, it is entirely reasonable to expect the private sector to reflect the social composition of our country. The context created by the caste census must be used to have open conversations about inclusivity and diversity in the private sector across organisational hierarchies.”
In a bid to woo young voters, the manifesto will focus on expanding educational and job opportunities, addressing Bihar’s high unemployment rate, which stood at 7.2% in 2024, according to the Periodic Labour Force Survey, the leader added.
RJD’s Anwar Pasha and Subodh Mehta, Congress leaders Abhay Dubey and Karuna Sagar, CPI(ML) Liberation’s Meena Tiwari, CPI(M) leader Sarvoday Sharma, and VIP’s Dinesh Sahni and Nurul Huda, among others, also attended the two-day meeting.
After the finalisation of the manifesto, another INDIA bloc functionary said, the coordination committee is likely to work on the joint campaign strategies.
Senior JDU leader and MLC Neeraj Kumar said the politics in Bihar hinges on commitment and promise. “While Nitish Kumar has always fulfilled his commitment to the electors, Mahagathbandhan parties hardly lived up to their promise. In Karnataka, Congress govt has taken women for a ride and so did the Hemant Soren government in Jharkhand. People won’t care for the INDIA bloc promises,” added the JDU leader.