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RJD’s Manoj Jha Accuses Bihar Government of Violating MCC With Pre-Poll Cash Transfers

RJD MP Manoj Jha writes to the Election Commission, alleging that Bihar’s cash disbursements to women under a state scheme breach the Model Code of Conduct.

Jha said the payments during the MCC period raised serious concerns because the code bars announcements or distributions of financial benefits that could sway voters. File Photo; Representative image
Outlook News Desk

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Summary

  • Manoj Jha has accused the Bihar government of breaching the Model Code of Conduct with cash transfers before elections.

  • The RJD MP wrote to the Election Commission citing disbursements made in October and one planned for 7 November.

  • Bihar votes in two phases on 6 and 11 November, with counting on 14 November.

RJD MP Manoj Jha has written to the Election Commission (EC), urging action after alleging that the Bihar government contravened the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) by transferring funds to women under the Mukhyamantri Mahila Rojgar Yojana on 17, 24 and 31 October, 2025.

He said a further disbursement is planned for 7 November, four days before the second phase of polling in Bihar, and raised the matter in a letter to the EC. PTI reported the complaint was lodged on Friday.

News came in from Mokama that a man was killed in the election rally of the Jan Suraaj party. Guns blazed again in Mokama. In this ravaged landscape that has bahubalis flexing muscles every election, this isn’t out of the norm. - X.com
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“I am writing to lodge a formal and strong protest against the brazen violation of the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) by the government of Bihar through the direct cash transfer of Rs 10,000 to beneficiaries on 17, 24 and 31 October, 2025 under the Mukhyamantri Mahila Rojgar Yojana,” Jha said in his letter to the EC. “Besides, as the enclosed schedule suggests. The next proposed date for disbursement is 7 November...,” he added.

The Rashtriya Janata Dal leader said the transfers amounted to a clear and deliberate breach of the MCC, which came into force on 6 October after the Bihar Assembly election schedule was announced.

“The aforementioned action by the Bihar government violates multiple provisions of the Model Code of Conduct and undermines the constitutional mandate for free and fair elections,” he alleged.

Jha said the payments during the MCC period raised serious concerns because the code bars announcements or distributions of financial benefits that could sway voters.

The poorest of the poor say there is a tussle here, but all of that is said in a hushed voice. This is a Bhumihar bastion. Mokama is not for the uninitiated. It is that seat where Bahubalis contest, and it is always a bloodied one. Barely six days before the first phase of the Bihar assembly elections, the violence in Mokama has now cast a dark shadow over the political parties, and Nitish Kumar’s government is now in a fix. For some time now, the NDA has been invoking jungle raj in its election campaign and asking voters to refrain from voting for the RJD and asking them to remember the days when crime ruled in Bihar. But crime never really took a back seat, and the killing of a Jan Suraaj supporter is another testimony to the fact that, despite the rhetoric, the ground reality in Bihar is still a narrative that’s not free from such incidents. Last evening, news came in from Mokama that a man was killed in the election rally of the Jan Suraaj party. Guns blazed again in Mokama. In this ravaged landscape that has bahubalis flexing muscles every election, this isn’t out of the norm. While the Prime Minister and others from the BJP and the JD(U) are still invoking Jungle Raj as their pitch against the Mahagatbhandan in the Bihar elections, the murder of Dularchand Yadav, a former strongman and an ex-aide of Lalu Prasad Yadav, in Mokama, is testimony to the fact that murders continue. JDU candidate Anant Singh, a strongman who is known for his antics and theatrics, has been in the spotlight for the murder. A self-styled Bahubali who also calls himself Chote Sarkar is pitched against another high-profile strongman, Suraj Bhan Singh’s wife Veena Devi, in Mokama in the 2025 Bihar assembly election. Back in 2014, I had interviewed Anant Singh, the don of Mokama. It was more of an accidental story. I had seen his photos everywhere in Patna and asked someone who he was, and was told that you don’t take his name in vain and the crowned king of Mokama. He was the big lord, the Robin Hood figure and the maverick who cared for nothing and nobody. Eleven years later, when I met him last week in Mokama’s Rampur Dumra village, he said he was not the Bahubali that everyone makes him out to be, but a public servant. He gives answers when he feels like and has his coterie to manage his bytes. Last when I met him, I was told by his aide that I should not ask complicated questions because he wouldn’t be able to answer those. In 2014, when I was at his residence in Patna, a baby elephant was brought into the room. “I love animals,” Anant Singh had said. For those who write, it is odd to be before the camera and in the presence of many people. The awkwardness of the medium is unsettling, and yet, we try because that seems to be the order of the day. The sad thing is that in a state where law and order have failed miserably over the last many decades, Anant Singh, who is fighting on a ticket by the JD(U), is hailed as a saviour. Jungle Raj is what the NDA keeps invoking, but while the RJD has given tickets to those who have criminal records and have been categorised as “bahubalis”, the JD(U) can’t be said to have that holy image because in Bihar, criminal politicians have always been around and have only grown stronger because of their command over people and their loyalties. Fear is one factor. There are other factors, too. Anant Singh is a man made for media bytes. He has a bizarre sense of humour, whether intentional or otherwise, one can’t tell. He is that man who can get the eyeballs, and so we went, but after being asked by everyone around which channel we belonged to, we gave up trying to explain that we were just those redundant kind of people who still wrote, hoping that their stories would be read. - null
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“In light of the above violations, I respectfully request that the Election Commission of India acknowledge this complaint and take immediate and strong action,” he added, and asked the poll panel for a written acknowledgement and “timely information” on any steps taken.

The NDA government in Bihar launched the Mukhyamantri Mahila Rojgar Yojana to provide an initial grant of Rs 10,000 to women to start enterprises, as part of a broader effort to promote self-employment and women’s empowerment.

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BJP National President JP Nadda with Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, BJP's Bihar election in-charge Dharmendra Pradhan, LJP (Ram Vilas) chief Chirag Paswan, Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) leader Jitan Ram Manjhi, Deputy CM Samrat Choudhary, JDU National Working President Sanjay Jha and others releases the National Democratic Alliance's (NDA) manifesto. - PTI
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Polling in Bihar is scheduled in two phases on 6 and 11 November, with counting on 14 November, PTI reported.

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Bihar Elections Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) Manoj Jha Elections Commission Bihar Assembly Elections 2025
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