Travelling across the Rajendra Setu over the Ganga, one crosses over from Mokama in Patna district to Begusarai, once known as the “Leningrad of Bihar”. A road turns right at Bihat, heading towards the village of Rachiyahi, where Chief Minister Nitish Kumar is set to address the second of his five public meetings of the day.
Scores of women make their way to the rally venue in the Matihani Assembly constituency. Several of them belong to self-help groups (SHGs) better known as “Jeevikas”. Ask them about the “Dashazari Yojana” — the Mukhya Mantri Mahila Rojgar Yojana under which one eligible woman from each family will receive an initial financial aid of Rs 10,000 to start an income-generating activity of her choice — and most say they have received the money, while others are hopeful of getting it sooner rather than later. Some admit to having used the money to buy new clothes and crackers for their children during Diwali, or spent it on fruits and other items for Chhath Puja. Some say they have even used the money to repay a part of the loan they had taken from micro-financing companies.
After one and a half kilometres, the women arrive at the venue and take their seats as most of the men move out from under the shamiana to stand in the open ground. Soon, Nitish Kumar’s helicopter arrives and the crowd surges towards the wooden fence around the helipad. As shouts of “Nitish Kumar zindabad” ring out, some women lift their children on their shoulders so they can catch a glimpse of the CM who has built his political legacy on the foundation of their support.
As the CM, accompanied by JD(U) national working president Sanjay Kumar Jha, heads towards the dais, people rush back to the pandal to take their seats, almost two-thirds of them women. Often facing the Opposition’s questions and criticism about his health, the CM has addressed more than two dozen public meetings since starting the campaign from Samastipur on October 16, more than any other leader across the political divide.
Next to the CM on the stage is Maithani MLA Rajkumar Singh who had won on a Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) ticket last time but moved over to the JD(U). Up against him is three-time MLA Narendra Kumar Singh, better known as Bogo Singh, who was the JD(U) nominee in 2020 but is contesting for the RJD this time. Both belong to the upper-caste Bhumihar community.
Last time, Begusarai was a close affair, with the Opposition Mahagathbandhan winning four seats in the district and the NDA three. For the ruling coalition, the considerable Left influence in Begusarai, a feature since the 1950s, has been a hurdle. The surprise factor in Maithani could be Jan Suraaj candidate Dr Arun Singh, a well-known doctor and former director of Patna’s Indira Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences. He is also a Bhumihar.
Jha kicks off the rally, emphasising how Nitish Kumar will continue to be the CM, a line the party is frequently reiterating, given that the senior BJP leadership, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has deftly side-stepped the CM question. Soon after Jha is done with his speech, Nitish gets up and carefully reads out the names of the guests on the stage from a piece of paper.
Barring some occasional fumbles, Nitish has been on message since he started campaigning. However, he gives up reading from his written speech and looks to connect with the crowd. “Humlogo ne khoob kaam kiya hai, humlogo ke pahle jo thhe kuchh kiya hai (We have done a lot of work. Those who ruled before us, did they do anything?” he asks, before elaborating on the talking points.”Earlier, people could not venture out of their homes and doors used to be shut by evening. There used to be a lot of conflicts. We first started fencing cemeteries after coming to power, and 2016 onwards, we started fencing temples older than 60 years.”
The CM also rattles off his government’s achievements and promises: appointment of 2.58 lakh teachers in the current term, plan to fill more than 77,000 teaching vacancies in the future. “In the coming five years, we will create one crore jobs,” he says, bringing up one of the headline-grabbing promises from the NDA manifesto that was released Friday, an apparent counter to his rival Tejashwi Yadav’s promise of a government job for each family.
Why women voters are important
Nitish also devotes a significant chunk of his 39-minute speech to all that his government has done to empower women, one of his key constituencies apart from EBCs. Figures from the 2014 and 2019 Lok Sabha polls show that the number of constituencies where women voters’ turnout exceeded that of men, despite their lower overall numbers on the electoral rolls, has been increasing. The highest number of such constituencies was in Bihar (10 in 2014 and 18 five years later), illustrating the importance of women voters.
Since coming to power in October 2005, Kumar has carefully nurtured the women’s vote. In 2006, Bihar became the first state to reserve 50% of rural and urban local body seats for women. The same year, he introduced free bicycles for schoolgirls under the Mukhyamantri Balika Cycle Yojana, which provides a cash subsidy to female students enrolling in the ninth grade to purchase a bicycle. In 2016, Nitish expanded 35% reservation for women to all state government jobs. Since 2018, the Mukhyamantri Kanya Utthan Yojana has provided girl students with financial assistance till graduation. Even the Prohibition imposed in 2016 was billed as a decision taken with women’s welfare in mind.
Targeting Lalu Prasad, his chief rival of over three decades, but without naming him, the CM says, “Woh log kya kiya? Khud hata toh apni patni ko CM bana diya … khali beta, beti karta rahta hai (When he quit as CM chair, he installed his wife as the CM, only keeps empowering his sons and daughters).”
Nitish concludes his speech with praise for Prime Minister Narendra Modi and an appeal to voters not to choose “gadbad sadbad log (unworthy people)”. The CM gets back to the helicopter, which kicks up a small dust storm as it takes off for the next venue, leaving the people of Rachiyahi thinking about his message.
On the way back, the women at the rally discuss how Nitish has made a difference to their lives. “Je kaam karalkay Nitish e karalkay, Lalu kuchcho nay karalkay (Whatever work has been done, it is because of Nitish. Lalu did hardly anything),” says Sukhiya Devi, a local. Though some of the women have not yet received Rs 10,000 in their accounts, they insist they will still vote for Nitish.
However, many of the youth do not agree and at the heart of their dissatisfaction is the lack of jobs. “It does not matter that I belong to Nitish Kumar’s Kurmi caste. I am not going to vote for him. His police beat up students outside the Bihar Public Service Commission during a protest. Had Nitish Kumar given enough jobs in his 20 years, he would not have needed to bribe women with the Rs 10,000 scheme before elections … Prashant Kishor (Jan Suraaj founder) is a great speaker and has a clear vision, but I don’t want to spoil my vote.”
Providing insight into the local contest, villager Surendra Prasad Rai says Rajkumar Singh has his family history — his father Kamdev Singh was an influential strongman in the 1970s — and “may win because of Modi and Nitish”. Bogo Singh, Rai adds, “keeps looking downwards (help locals) while Rajkumar looks up, bringing good projects to Matihani”. Ultimately, it may boil down to caste, like everything else in Bihar. “In the battle of three Bhumihars, Rajkumar may have an edge as most Bhumihars are still against the RJD.”