Nitish Kumar, Tejashwi Yadav to start yatras, interact with voters

Nitish Kumar will begin the Mahila Samvad Yatra on December 15 to meet women voters. Women are caste-neutral voters and are said to have played an important role in keeping Mr. Kumar in power

With the Bihar Assembly elections scheduled to be held next year in October-November, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and Leader of the Opposition in the State, the Rashtriya Janata Dal’s Tejashwi Yadav, are gearing up for yatras to reach out to voters.

Mr. Kumar will set off on his 15th such yatra since 2005, named Mahila Samvad Yatra, on December 15, while Mr. Yadav will kick off the third phase of his Karyakarta Samvad Yatra from December 4. Earlier, Mr. Yadav had discontinued his yatra midway because of festival and bypolls on four seats in Bihar.

Probably taking a cue from the Maiya Samman Yojna in Jharkhand and the Ladli Behna Yojna in Maharashtra, which had an impact on the poll results, Mr. Kumar, who is upbeat after the recent bypoll results in the State in which the NDA won all the four seats, will meet the women voters starting from Valmikinagar in West Champaran district. During his yatra, he is likely to interact with women, jivikadidis and review the progress of the government’s seven-resolve programmes.

Women are caste-neutral voters and are said to have played an important role in keeping Mr. Kumar in power. He has introduced several programmes for their welfare such as 50% reservation in Panchayati Raj institutions, 35% reservation in jobs, 1.40 crore jivika didis membership and ban on liquor.

“Mr. Kumar will communicate with women supporters during his yatra and gauge what more needs to be done for them,” said Janata Dal (United) spokesperson Neeraj Kumar.

“State elections are just a year away and this is the right time to pep up core voters. Mr. Kumar is undertaking his yatra at the right time,” another senior JD(U) leader told The Hindu. The leader said that Mr. Kumar may make “women-centric announcements”.

Mr. Yadav has been communicating with party workers and leaders during his yatra to understand the people’s mood and preferences.

“During the yatra, he is also trying to understand the party’s village-level organisation by speaking directly with grassroots-level workers and supporters,” party leader Mrityunjay Tiwari said.

Mr. Yadav is likely to launch an attack on the Nitish Kumar-led government on issues of law and order, ‘failed’ liquor ban in the State, public resentment against installation of smart electricity meters and land survey, corruption, and the failure in providing jobs.

Recently, Union Minister of Textiles, Giriraj Singh, the BJP MP from Begusarai, had undertaken the Hindu Swabhiman Yatra from Bhagalpur Araria, Katihar, Purnia and Kishanganj, the four Muslim-dominated border districts in northeast Bihar. However, the BJP had said that the yatra was undertaken in Mr. Singh’s “personal capacity”.

The Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) and the Vikashil Insaan Party had also taken out yatras across the State.

Published - December 03, 2024 07:28 pm IST