‘Every household to have…’: Tejashwi Yadav uses ‘Brahmastra’ just days before Bihar Assembly elections

Amidst the electoral battle in Bihar, Tejashwi Yadav has made a move with the government job. RJD’s CM face, Tejashwi Yadav, has announced that if the government is formed, a law will be passed to provide government jobs to one person from every household within 20 months. Tejashwi, the former deputy CM, has made this announcement likely to be a masterstroke, as unemployment and migration have been major issues in Bihar. It will be difficult for Nitish Kumar and the NDA, who have been in power in Bihar for 20 years, to find a response to this move as there is no bigger scheme in Bihar than government jobs.

Tejashwi direct take on Nitish over teacher recruitment

Before the announcement of elections in Bihar, the Bihar government launched a series of schemes. Under the Chief Minister’s Women’s Employment Scheme, 10,000 rupees were deposited into the accounts of 12.1 million women. Furthermore, the salaries of employees, including mid-day meal assistants, home guards, and guest teachers, were increased. The NDA also launched a free electricity scheme. A 1,000 rupee allowance was also announced for the unemployed. To counter the NDA’s strategy of freebies and cash, Tejashwi Yadav promised government jobs. Tejashwi has previously clashed with Nitish Kumar over the Bihar teacher recruitment issue. There was considerable debate between the RJD and the JDU over the credit for teacher recruitment. The teacher recruitment process began when Tejashwi Yadav became Deputy Chief Minister in August 2022. Nitish Kumar returned to the NDA in January 2024, but the battle over credit never ended.

Tejashwi Yadav targets voters in the age group of 18-30

According to the Periodic Labour Force Survey 22 report, the unemployment rate in Bihar was 6 percent till three years ago, which was higher than the national ratio of 4.1. The majority of unemployed youth are in the age group of 18-29 years, who are going to play a big role in the elections. The unemployment rate in this category is 20.1 percent. The issue of migration is somehow linked to unemployment in Bihar, on which Prashant Kishore has also been attacking. Seven percent of Bihar’s population migrates every year. In terms of migration, Bihar is at the first position and Uttar Pradesh is at the second position.