Masaudhi, Oct 22 (IANS) The promise by Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief ministerial candidate Tejashwi Yadav to offer 10 lakh jobs to the people of Bihar, if it forms government in the state, has managed to draw crowds to the party’s election rallies ahead of the Assembly polls.
The lucrative offer of the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and Mahagathbandhan have been so far successful in bringing people out of their homes to listen to Tejashwi at the rally venues.
Tejashwi was in Masaudhi to campaign for an RJD candidate. People had turned out in large numbers. At one point, the situation seemed to be getting out of control even for police as the people were pushing the barricades and move beyond those makeshift barriers.
Some of the people even broke the barricades after Tejashwi told police personnel to allow them to come to the stage from where he was speaking.
Rahul Sharma, a native of Masaudhi, located around 30 km from Patna, said: “Announcements like 10 lakh jobs in the government sector has created huge expectations among common people of Bihar. Hence, people from all section of the society are assembling at rally venues to see him (Tejashwi) and listen to his speech.”
Another resident, Ramesh Sagar, said: “There is no doubt about the anti-incumbency factor working against Chief Minister Nitish Kumar as he is unable to take care of some of the key issues like inflation, non-creation of jobs, migration, etc. Poor people have become poorest due to the flawed policies.
“On the other hand, there is a politician like Lalu Prasad known for his socialist ways and advocacy for equality. Hence, they are looking at his son Tejashwi Yadav as an option,” he added.
“The situation is similar to the 2014 parliamentary election where people of the country are looking for change. Let’s hope Tejashwi sticks to his and it does not turn out to be a ‘jumla’,” Sagar said.
Another Masaudhi resident Roshan Paswan said the people of Bihar have lost faith in Nitish Kumar’s leadership style.
“He had collected votes by opposing BJP but later joined hands with the same party for his vested interests. He had put the mandate aside. People of Bihar are aware of these developments… He (Nitish) is no longer a trustworthy individual for people of Bihar.”
“We are looking at Tejaswi Yadav as the face of change. The people of marginalised category are looking up to him as a ray of hope,” said Sri Krishna Sharma, who had come from Punpun, near Masaudhi.
In the Sankalp Patra of Mahagathbandhan, there are 25 points including loan waiver of farmers, non implementation of newly introduced agriculture bill, no fee for competitive examination, no travelling charges for students from district headquarters to examination centres, etc.
Everyone in Bihar will get free Covid-19 vaccine: Sitharaman
New Delhi: Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman released the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP’s) poll manifesto for the upcoming Bihar assembly elections on Thursday. She said that once a vaccine to treat the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) is available for production at a mass scale, it will be provided for free to everyone in Bihar.
“As and when the vaccine candidates that are currently under various levels of trials in the country get scientific clearances and a go-ahead for production, the people of Bihar will get vaccination for free once the production in India is on a large scale. This is our first poll promise as mentioned in the manifesto,” Sitharaman said at the party’s manifesto launch in Bihar.
