What rivals ideate, Nitish inks: The script behind the Bihar election sop story

India Today

3 days ago

In Bihar's humid July heat, domestic consumers can now let their fans and fridges hum guilt-free. On July 17, chief minister Nitish Kumar announced a waiver of up to 125 electricity units each month for 18.7 million households—a timely gust of cool relief that the Janata Dal (United) hopes will translate into electoral capital this year.In fact, no welfare docket has been left untouched as Nitish is trying to position himself, once again, as the indispensable steward of Bihar's politics. Backed by a state subsidy of Rs 19,792 crore for the current financial year, the electricity waiver ensures zero billing on the first 125 units consumed—enough to power the basic needs of families.advertisementPrime challenger Tejashwi Yadav of the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) may have pledged 200 units of free electricity should the Opposition mahagathbandhan come to power, but Nitish's offering is no longer speculative; it has cabinet approval and will reflect in the power bills for August. He has transformed a rival's populist script into state policy, handing voters immediate relief as against one promised.With assembly elections barely months away, Nitish has absorbed and actualised key welfare ideas mooted by the Opposition—higher pension, job quota for women, subsidised electricity—demonstrating that in Bihar, at least, it is the doer, not the dreamer, who may have the edge.
DOMICILE-ONLY WOMEN'S QUOTAIn a subtle but significant move on July 8, the Bihar cabinet amended its flagship government jobs scheme, tightening eligibility criteria so that the 35 per cent quota for women applies only to domiciled residents of the state.For the first time, the gates have been shut for 'bahari' aspirants. What may seem an administrative recalibration is, in essence, a finely tuned electoral calculation: only those who cast their lot in Bihar can now share its spoils. Politically, it underscores a reciprocal logic—if only Biharis can vote, only Biharis should benefit. The subtext is unmistakable: women voters, no longer passive participants, now take centre-stage.PUMPING UP PENSIONIn mid-June, the Nitish cabinet sanctioned a sweeping increase in social security pensions, raising monthly payments for widows, senior citizens and people with disabilities from Rs 400 to Rs 1,100. The measure immediately benefitted 11 million people.On July 11, Nitish presided over a transfer ceremony where Rs 1,227.27 crore worth of pensions were electronically disbursed. It was a subtle but unmistakable stroke of oneupmanship: Tejashwi had promised similar hikes but Nitish had already enacted them.COPYCAT OR CAPABLE?Critics in the RJD have derided Nitish's latest moves as 'copycat politics'—a borrowing of Tejashwi's vision. Yet this critique underestimates the potency of execution. While Tejashwi's pledges remain parked in manifestos, Nitish has mobilised bureaucracies, secured budget lines and rolled out benefits.Where Nitish truly excels is in compressing the distance between announcement and implementation. Pension increases were credited within days. The 35 per cent women's quota change moved seamlessly from cabinet resolution to revised recruitment rules. The electricity subsidy arrived with operational clarity, including a plan to install rooftop solar systems, fully subsidised for BPL (below poverty line) families and partially supported for others. It's not merely optics. It's a bureaucratic ballet orchestrated to perfection, offering both relief and resonance.advertisementTHE ELECTORAL ARITHMETICIn Bihar, electoral success hinges increasingly on women voters, who now consistently outvote their male counterparts. From 1951 to 2005, male voter turnout exceeded female turnout in every assembly election.That changed in 2010, when 54.49 per cent of women voted as against 51.12 per cent of men. In 2015, women led again: 60.54 per cent to 53.30 per cent. The 2020 polls followed the same trend—59.68 per cent women's turnout against 54.45 per cent men. Even in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the divide endured: 59.45 per cent women, 53 per cent men.These numbers mark a profound shift. Bihar's women no longer arrive at the ballot box in their husbands' or fathers' shadow—they come early and vote independently. In a state traditionally defined by caste affiliations, gender has emerged as an autonomous axis of influence.advertisementPerhaps sensing the direction of the wind, the Opposition is scrambling to shore up its pitch. The Congress, taking a page out of Hemant Soren's Jharkhand playbook, has promised a Maa-Bahan Maan Yojana, a monthly entitlement of Rs 2,500 to vulnerable women. The RJD has backed the promise.Prashant Kishor's Jan Suraaj Party, on its part, has committed to fielding at least 40 women candidates—a recognition, perhaps, of a changing electorate that cares more about representation than rhetoric.THE STRATEGIST'S EDGEIn reserving the job quota for domiciled women and delivering on pensions and free power, Nitish isn't simply doling out benefits—he's redrawing Bihar's political map. By targeting welfare towards women, he is both rewarding loyalty and cementing future support.And even if some of the ideas weren't originally his, so be it. As with his rooftop solar plan, Nitish is proving that borrowed light can still power a home, especially if you switch it on before anyone else does. In the upcoming high-stakes election, it is not the originality of an idea but the speed and success of its execution that may decide the direction of the mandate.Subscribe to India Today Magazine- EndsMust Watch