The task of forging a common agenda in Bihar

As Bihar gears up for assembly elections, the INDIA bloc is moving toward drafting a joint manifesto—a document, as per Bihar watchers, that could serve as the ideological glue binding its partners.

Sources told this correspondent that alliance partners—RJD, Congress, CPI, CPI(M), CPI(ML) and Vikassheel Insaan Party (VIP)—have initiated discussions to draft a vision document proposing an alternative to NDA policies.

The first significant step in this direction was taken at the maiden joint committee meeting chaired by RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav. The INDIA bloc has set up three key committees: a coordination committee, a campaign committee and a manifesto committee. At the heart of the joint manifesto effort is a clear ideological pivot: social justice not as a slogan, but as a blueprint for governance.

Manjeet Sahu, a prominent youth leader from Bihar Congress who is also a member of the manifesto committee said: “As Rahulji has repeatedly said, social justice will not just be part of our campaign—it will be its core idea. The entire narrative will be built around it.”

The joint manifesto is set to advocate raising the caste quota cap and address Bihar’s chronic migration, especially among its youth and working-class population. Another bold proposal under consideration is land reform—long sidelined politically, despite directly affecting nearly half of Bihar’s population, who are landless.

Alliance sources confirm serious consideration of the Bandopadhyay Committee’s land reform recommendations—commissioned but never implemented by Nitish Kumar—to promote equitable land distribution, secure land titles and boost agricultural productivity, particularly for Dalits and other marginalised communities.

The Congress is also pushing to include a common education policy to bridge Bihar’s public-private schooling divide. “This is essential to reduce educational inequality and promote inclusive development,” said a senior party functionary. The proposal draws inspiration from long-standing demands of education reformers for a uniform school system that ensures quality education for every child, regardless of caste, class or income.

An RJD leader who is both a manifesto committee member and a ticket aspirant confirmed that there is broad agreement with the Left parties on key agenda points—reservation expansion, land reform and common schooling. While the idea of a joint manifesto had surfaced during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, it failed to materialise due to internal disagreements, especially over the caste census.

That issue remains delicate. While parties like the Congress, RJD, SP, CPI, CPI(M) and DMK support a comprehensive caste census, the TMC remains ambiguous, despite its promise of establishing a task force to assess OBC status for unrecognised communities.

The INDIA bloc does seem more cohesive and ideologically aligned than before. A senior political observer from Bihar noted: “By placing social justice, land reform and educational equity at the core of its programme, the Opposition is not just challenging the NDA electorally— it is offering a fundamentally different vision of governance rooted in equality and empowerment.”

Whether this consensus culminates in the release of a full-fledged joint manifesto remains to be seen. For now, the groundwork has clearly begun.

Bihar mein naukari ke bahar ba—but only for the well-connected!

With assembly elections around the corner, the Nitish Kumar-led government appears to have gone on a generous appointment spree that benefits—hold your breath—not the many deserving unemployed youth of the state, but the kinfolk (sons-in-law, daughters, wives) of influential political families and bureaucrats.

Mockingly termed ‘Jamai Aayog’ (Commission of the Sons-in-law) by Tejashwi Yadav, the irony of the situation is that those who once launched their political careers by slamming the Congress for dynastic politics now seem to be setting new records in favouritism. Take the case of Devendra Kumar Manjhi, son-in-law of Union minister and Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) chief Jitan Ram Manjhi.

He has been appointed deputy chairperson of the Bihar Scheduled Castes Commission. Devendra had earlier served as Manjhi’s personal assistant—a role already mired in controversy. Then there’s the late Ram Vilas Paswan’s son-in-law Anil Paswan, who has been appointed chairperson of the same commission.

Ashok Choudhary’s son-in-law has been made a member of the Bihar State Religious Trust Council. His family is overseeing the construction of the Viraat Ramayan Mandir in Champaran through the Mahavir Mandir Patna Trust, founded by his father Acharya Kunal Kishore. There’s more. Rashmi Rekha Sinha, wife of former chief secretary Deepak Kumar, who also served as principal secretary to the chief minister, has been made a member of the Bihar State Women’s Commission.

The most controversial is the appointment of JD(U) leader Sanjay Jha’s daughters as panel counsels for the central government in the Supreme Court. These are coveted posts that typically demand at least 5–10 years of rigorous legal practice in the higher courts. While Adya and Satya Jha, reportedly in their mid-20s, are said to hold law degrees from Havard and Stanford, they fall short of the required experience.

Their appointments—for a three-year term under the Group ‘A’ Supreme Court panel—have led to serious questions. The JD(U)’s justification? It was a “matter of Darbhanga pride”. As lakhs of unemployed youths in Bihar struggle to find decent jobs, the Nitish Kumar government seems intent on distributing plum posts to the wellconnected.

Naukari ba—but only for the privileged few.

Chirag Paswan: kingmaker, spoiler or just another pretender?

Ever since LJP (Ram Vilas) chief Chirag Paswan declared his intent to contest all the seats in the upcoming Bihar assembly elections, political pundits have been wondering what “Modiji’s Hanuman” is really up to. While loyalists project it as a bold expansionist move, in the power corridors of Patna, Chirag isn’t being taken as seriously as he might have liked. The Congress and the RJD see it as a bid to increase his bargaining power within the NDA. His real goal, they say, is to demand more seats and secure his place in the alliance.

Interestingly, even the JD(U)—a key NDA ally—has downplayed Chirag’s ambitions. They are aware he is eyeing their core EBC vote bank. But does he really have the political heft to damage the JD(U)? A Patna-based journalist offered a striking analogy: “Chirag is trying to do to Nitish Kumar what his father, the late Ram Vilas Paswan, did to Lalu Prasad Yadav in 2005.”

Ram Vilas Paswan had played a crucial role in ending Lalu’s 15-year reign. His LJP contested against the RJD but tactically spared the Congress. The result? RJD emerged as the single-largest party with 75 seats, LJP bagged 29 and the Congress 10. By refusing to support either camp, Paswan senior forced a re-election—paving the way for Nitish Kumar’s rise to power. Observers say Chirag is taking a page out of that playbook. Problem is—he isn’t Ram Vilas Paswan.

His political capital is fractured. His uncle, Pashupati Kumar Paras, has floated his own outfit—the Rashtriya Lok Janshakti Party—splitting the Paswan vote, which constitutes nearly 5 per cent of Bihar’s electorate. A bitter family feud has weakened Chirag’s claim to the legacy he often invokes. At best, some speculate Chirag is angling for the deputy chief minister’s chair if the NDA returns to power. The BJP has not shown signs of backing him over Nitish Kumar.

As of now, Nitish remains the face of the NDA in Bihar. “If the NDA fights the elections under Nitish Kumar’s leadership, no power on earth can remove him from the CM’s chair,” said a senior JD(U) leader. Where does that leave Chirag Paswan? Kingmaker, spoiler or just another pretender in Bihar’s crowded political theatre?

Bihar welfare officer sacked for allowing student interaction

Alok Kumar, the district welfare officer of Darbhanga, has been fired. His fault? He failed to prevent Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi from interacting with Scheduled Caste (SC) and Scheduled Tribe (ST) students at a government hostel in the district. According to the termination letter issued by the Bihar government’s SC/ ST Welfare Department, Kumar’s explanation for allowing the interaction was found ‘unsatisfactory’.

The letter states that he ‘should not have permitted’ such an event to take place. The letter notes that despite being aware that the National Students’ Union of India (NSUI) was setting up a stage inside the hostel premises, the officer failed to intervene.

Interestingly, Kumar, in his written reply, claims he had informed his superiors and even sought prior permission. However, the department concluded that his conduct suggested ‘complicity’ rather than due diligence, and declared that he had ‘failed to discharge his responsibilities as District Welfare Officer, Darbhanga’.

Rahul Gandhi’s meeting with SC and ST students was part of the Congress Party’s ongoing ‘Shiksha Nyay Samvad’ (Dialogue on Justice in Education) campaign that aims to highlight systemic inequalities and challenges faced by SC, ST, OBC and minority students across the country. Speaking to this correspondent over the phone, Bihar Congress spokesperson Rajesh Rathod said, “This [action] exposes the hypocrisy of the Nitish Kumar government.”