Daijiworld Media Network – Patna

Patna, Oct 22: In a major pre-election push targeting women voters, the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) on Tuesday announced a series of welfare promises aimed at ‘Jeevika didis’ — women associated with Bihar’s rural livelihood mission — to counter the ruling BJP-JDU alliance’s recent schemes.

RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav said that if his party is voted to power, all ‘Jeevika didis’, currently employed on a contract basis, will be made permanent with a monthly salary of Rs 30,000. He also pledged interest waivers on existing loans and interest-free credit facilities till 2027.

Additionally, the party has promised a Rs 2,000 monthly allowance and Rs 5 lakh insurance coverage for every ‘Jeevika didi’.

Yadav took a swipe at the Nitish Kumar-led government, saying, “Work in villages or cities is not possible without ‘Jeevika didis’. But they get nothing in return. This government has failed them — we will correct that injustice.”

‘Jeevika didis’ are part of the World Bank-aided Bihar Rural Livelihoods Project that aims to empower women through self-help groups. The state currently has around 3.5 crore women voters — a key constituency that played a decisive role in the 2020 Assembly elections, when the BJP-JDU alliance swept 60.5% of seats where women outnumbered men.

The RJD’s renewed focus on women’s welfare comes as the ruling alliance has rolled out its own benefits under the Mai Bahin Maan Yojana, offering Rs 10,000 cash assistance and increased social security pensions for widows from Rs 400 to Rs 1,400, along with 50% reservation for women in local bodies.

However, the opposition has termed these payouts as “bribes for votes”. “They distributed Rs 10,000 under the Mai Bahin Maan Yojana for Bihar’s women, but this is a loan, not a gift. Amit Shah himself said it will be recovered,” RJD leaders claimed.

Meanwhile, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, addressing a rally in Saran, hit out at Tejashwi Yadav’s promises, calling them “misleading”. “There are 2.8 crore families in Bihar. To give one government job to each, Rs 12 lakh crore is needed — four times Bihar’s total budget. This is impossible and deceptive,” he said.

With voting scheduled for November 6 and 11, both alliances are intensifying their outreach to women — a voter group seen as critical in shaping Bihar’s political outcome.