In a poll manifesto focussed on jobs, the INDIA bloc promised to enact a law within its first 20 days in power to ensure that one member of every family in the State is given a government job and also vowed to give permanent government employee status to all contractual and outsourced employees, as well as to Jeevika community mobilisers.
Higher financial aid for women, hikes in free power, and the restoration of the Old Pension System and the agricultural mandi system are other highlights in the 32-page manifesto released on Tuesday (October 28, 2025).
Also Read: Bihar Assembly election LIVE updates on October 28, 2025
The Opposition’s Chief Ministerial candidate and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav released the manifesto along with Congress leader Pawan Khera, Vikassheel Insaan Party (VIP) chief and Deputy CM candidate Mukesh Sahani, Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) (Liberation) general secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya, and other leaders of the alliance.
The Bihar Rural Livelihoods Project, known as Jeevika, largely works through women’s self-help groups facilitated by community mobilisers. Apart from permanent government employee status, the manifesto promised to give these Jeevika mobilisers fixed salaries of ₹30,000 per month and two-year interest free loans. Jeevika cadre members were promised an allowance of ₹2,000 per month for performing other tasks, with the cadre president and treasurer to also receive an honorarium.
Domicile policy
The manifesto also promises to waive off forms and examination fees for competitive exams, and provide free travel to and from examination centres. Strict action will be taken to prevent paper leaks and a domicile policy will be implemented to ensure priority in employment for Bihar residents.
The INDIA bloc vowed to generate skill-based employment by creating IT parks, Special Economic Zones (SEZs), and encouraging dairy-based industries, agro-based industries, healthcare, agriculture, food processing, renewable energy, logistics, manufacturing, and tourism, with special attention for fisheries and animal husbandry. An educational city, industry clusters, and five new expressways will be built on 2,000 acres in the State. A coherent policy will be developed for the financial and skills development of small and medium-sized enterprises, the manifesto said.
A labour census will be conducted to provide monthly financial assistance and skill training, while a dedicated department will be set up for the welfare of migrant workers.
Restoring OPS, mandi system
While Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has provided 125 units of free electricity, the Opposition has promised to give 200 units of free electricity to every household.
One of the Opposition’s most popular promises, to implement the Old Pension Scheme (OPS Scheme), is also in the manifesto.
To woo farmers, the manifesto promises to reinstate the APMC Act (Agricultural Produce Market Committee), better known as the mandi system.
It vows to immediately hike the MGNREGA daily wage from ₹255 to ₹300 per day, and to increase the 100-day guarantee of work to 200 days. Pressure will be exerted on the Union government to raise MNREGA wages to ₹400 across the country, it says.
Allowances for women
Under the Mai-Behin Man Yojana, women will receive financial assistance of ₹2,500 per month starting in December, and ₹30,000 per year for the next five years, the manifesto says. It also promises to introduce the BETI and MAI schemes, which will provide benefits like education, training, and welfare for daughters, and ensure housing and income for mothers. A women’s college will be opened in each subdivision, and degree colleges will be opened in the 136 blocks that do not have any yet, the manifesto says.
Widows will receive a monthly social security pension of ₹1,500, with an annual increase of ₹200. Disabled individuals will receive a monthly pension of ₹3,000. The manifesto also promises to set up a Department for Disability.
Reservation, protection for EBCs
For extremely backward classes (EBC), the manifesto promises to bring in a law for protection against atrocities along the lines of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Prevention of Atrocities Act, if the INDIA bloc comes to power.
To increase the 50% reservation limit proportionate to the population, the legislature will refer a bill to the Union government for inclusion in the Ninth Schedule of the Constitution of India, it says. The current 20% reservation limit for the EBCs in Panchayat and Municipal bodies will be increased to 30%, while the limit for Scheduled Castes (SC) will be raised from 16% to 20%, and reservation for Scheduled Tribes (ST) will also be increased proportionately. Along with this 200 SC/ST students will be granted scholarships to study abroad, the manifesto says.
In response to demands by Muslims, the alliance says the Waqf (Amendment) Act will be put on hold. It also promises that the management of Buddhist temples in Bodh Gaya will be handed over to members of the Buddhist community.
A regulatory body will be set up to prevent harassment of women during installment collection by microfinance companies and to control arbitrary interest rates. It also added that a high-level effort will be made to recover investors’ deposits stuck in Sahara India.
It also promises to bring in a policy to post and transfer teachers, health workers, and other service personnel within a 70-kilometre radius of their home districts.
Senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and former Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad dismissed the Opposition manifesto as a bundle of hollow claims. The ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) is likely to release its own manifesto on October 30, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to campaign in Bihar.
Published – October 28, 2025 05:10 pm IST