Elections 2025: NDA Promises Growth, INDIA Vows Welfare— Which Is The Winning Blueprint For Bihar?

With Bihar going to the polls within a week for its assembly elections, both the BJP-led NDA alliance and the INDIA bloc have made tall promises in their 2025 election manifestos. The NDA’s Sankalp Patra and the INDIA bloc’s Tejashwi Pran showcase a rivalry of priorities: one emphasises infrastructure and investment-driven growth, while the other centres on welfare guarantees, education, and job creation.

Promising to create 10 lakh entrepreneurs and one crore ‘Lakhpati’ didis, the NDA has set ambitious growth targets. The Mahagathbandhan, on the other hand, has focused its message on welfare, cash transfers, and social welfare guarantees, including raising reservation quotas and providing one job per household to Bihar’s 2.76 crore homes, as well as increasing in MGNREGA wages.

Despite charting different paths for Bihar’s development, both groups are paying special attention to EBCs and women-related schemes, with the INDIA bloc having released a separate 10-point resolution for the conditions of EBCs in Bihar.

Employment and Youth Schemes

Both alliances have placed employment at the centre of their manifestos, but with different approaches.

The NDA has promised one crore government jobs and aims to transform Bihar into a Global Skilling Hub with mega skill centres in every district. It also plans to create 10 lakh entrepreneurs under the Smart Ashok Entrepreneurship Centres and a ₹5,000 crore startup fund.

The INDIA bloc, meanwhile, pledges to ensure one government job per family within 20 days of taking power and to generate 1.25 crore jobs over its full term. Unemployed graduates and postgraduates would receive monthly stipends of ₹2,000 and ₹3,000, respectively, while contract workers would be regularised. It also promises a “Bihar Job Connect App” for real-time employment listings and internship opportunities.

Women and Welfare

Women’s empowerment figures prominently in both manifestos.

The NDA has announced an ambitious target of creating one crore “Lakhpati Didis” — women earning ₹1 lakh a year — along with a “Mission Crorepati” to turn women entrepreneurs into millionaires. Women will also receive ₹2 lakh financial aid under the Chief Minister Women Employment Scheme, alongside initiatives such as Pink Buses, Pink Toilets, and free HPV vaccinations.

The India bloc’s “Mai-Bahin Maan Yojana” promises a direct monthly transfer of ₹2,500 (₹30,000 annually) to women starting December 1, along with ₹25 lakh health insurance for all. It also pledges to recognise Jeevika Didis as government employees, with a monthly salary of ₹ 30,000 and social security benefits. Widows and senior citizens would receive a monthly pension of ₹1,500, which would increase annually.

Extremely Backwards Classes

Both alliances have made distinct promises to uplift Bihar’s marginalised and backward communities.

The NDA has pledged ₹10 lakh in financial assistance for the listed Extremely Backward Class (EBC) occupational groups and announced a committee, led by a retired Supreme Court judge, to assess their social and economic conditions. For Scheduled Castes, the manifesto promises ₹2,000 monthly scholarships for higher education students, residential schools in each division, and venture funds to promote SC entrepreneurship.

The INDIA bloc has released a 10-point resolution focused on EBC empowerment. It pledges to enact a law protecting EBCs from atrocities, modelled on the SC/ST Prevention of Atrocities Act, and to raise EBC reservation in panchayats and municipal bodies from 20 per cent to 30 per cent, taking the total cap to 50 per cent. The bloc also promises land distribution to landless SC, ST, OBC, and EBC families, enforcement of Article 15(5) for private institution admissions, and 50 per cent reservation for these groups in government contracts up to ₹25 crore. A regulatory authority will be set up to oversee and implement these reservation measures.

Farmers and Rural Economy

Both coalitions have committed to strengthening Bihar’s agrarian economy.

The NDA’s Karpuri Thakur Kisan Samman Nidhi proposes to raise farmer assistance from ₹6,000 to ₹9,000 per year and ensure a Minimum Support Price (MSP) of ₹3,000 per crop. It also plans a ₹ one lakh crore investment in agricultural infrastructure, including food parks and export zones, with the goal of making Bihar self-reliant in pulses by 2030.

The INDIA bloc, too, promises an MSP guarantee for all crops and a revival of local mandis. It pledges to increase MGNREGA wages to ₹300 a day and extend the number of workdays from 100 to 200. It also proposes to lift the ban on toddy, benefiting farmers and traditional industries and aims to reinstate the APMC Act.

Education and Youth Development

Education reform is a shared priority, but with differing emphasis.

The NDA promises free education from kindergarten to postgraduate level for poor families, a ₹5,000 crore Education City, and modernised schools offering breakfast along with mid-day meals. It also envisions Bihar as an Education and Sports City, complete with new universities and training centres.

The INDIA bloc plans to establish a 2,000-acre education city and introduce a zero-fee policy for competitive examinations. The Mahagathbandhan alliance also vows to review the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 and focus on equitable access and quality. It plans 100 new colleges, model universities in every division, and a dedicated women’s university. The student credit card limit will be doubled to ₹8 lakh (and ₹25 lakh for disadvantaged students), and Patna University will be upgraded to a central university.

Health and Infrastructure

Health infrastructure finds strong mention in both manifestos.

The NDA plans a Viksit Bihar Medicity, medical colleges in every district, and new super-speciality hospitals, along with mobile health vans and 100 per cent institutional deliveries.

The INDIA bloc counters with a Public Health Security Scheme offering ₹25 lakh insurance cover per family, free treatment in government hospitals, and a network of district-level ICUs, telemedicine, and mobile clinics.

On infrastructure, the NDA has promised an investment of ₹ 9 lakh crore, including seven expressways, four international airports, and metro projects in Patna, Gaya, Purnia, and Bhagalpur. It also envisions industrial parks, textile hubs, and tech cities to attract investment.

The Mahagathbandhan alliance proposes five new state highways, IT parks, Special Economic Zones (SEZs), and an Education City, with an emphasis on job-oriented infrastructure.

Social Justice and Inclusion

The NDA promises targeted schemes for the EBCs, SCs, and STs, including ₹10 lakh assistance for certain occupational groups, residential schools, and monthly scholarships of ₹2,000 for higher education students.

The INDIA bloc pledges to increase quotas for Dalits, EBCs, and tribals in local bodies, expand welfare schemes, and set up a Department for People with Disabilities, offering special job reservation and ₹3,000 monthly pensions.