As the NDA swept Bihar’s assembly elections in the 243-member house, Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed jubilant BJP workers in Delhi.
“Some parties in Bihar introduced the MY formula as a strategy for appeasement,” he quipped, referencing the RJD’s long-standing Muslim-Yadav vote bank. “But this huge victory has redefined the MY formula in a positive light: Mahila (women) and Youth.”
Their “desires, aspirations, and dreams have shattered the old, communal MY formula of Jungle Raj.” With a record 67.13% turnout-driven by women and Bihar’s youth-heavy demographic-the NDA surged from 125 seats in 2020, leaving the Mahagathbandhan (RJD-Congress alliance) reeling at just 32.Modi’s branding was vintage showmanship: catchy, counterintuitive, and laced with barbs at “katta sarkar” (gun-toting rule).
Yet, is it actually a “secret” formula? It is not. This recipe-empowering women and youth through targeted welfare-has been BJP’s open-source code for two years, iterated across states like a political franchise.
It started in Madhya Pradesh’s 2023 polls, where Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan’s Ladli Behna Yojana delivered ₹1,250 monthly (later hiked to ₹1,500) to over 1.2 crore women, flipping anti-incumbency into a 163-seat haul. Haryana refined it in October 2024: The Lado Laxmi Yojana promised ₹2,100 monthly to women from low-income families, mobilizing 2 million beneficiaries and securing a third term despite polls predicting defeat. Maharashtra’s November 2024 remix, Majhi Ladki Bahin Yojana (₹1,500, pledged to ₹2,100), powered the Mahayuti to 230 seats, with women turnout spiking 10%.
Bihar? A seamless sequel. Ahead of the polls, the NDA rolled out Ladli Laxmi Yojana-mirroring its predecessors-with ₹10,000 one-time transfers to women’s accounts, unemployment stipends (₹1,000-2,000/month for youth), 125 free electricity units, and pensions up to ₹1,100. JD(U)’s vote share jumped to 23.8% in women-dominant districts, up from 15.7% elsewhere, while allies like Chirag Paswan’s LJP (17 seats) locked in EBC youth. “Cash in hand trumps promises,” as analysts note-RJD’s ₹30,000 post-election deposit pledge fizzled against NDA’s pre-poll deluge.
Post-2024 Lok Sabha stumbles, this template revived the BJP, neutralizing caste faultlines with immediate gratification. Fiscal costs? Steep-₹5,000 crore outlays strain budgets-but voters prioritize empowerment over austerity. The opposition, from Rahul Gandhi’s “vote chori” cries to Prashant Kishor’s zero-seat Jan Suraaj flop, remains outmaneuvered, urging introspection on matching “freebies.”
Modi’s “secret”? It’s BJP’s greatest hit, now with a viral acronym. As he eyes Bengal 2026-“Ganga flows from Bihar to Bengal”-the real question isn’t revelation, but replication. In India’s welfare auctions, women and youth aren’t the punchline; they’re the power play.