By Kavita Mistry 
Patna: In a bid to blunt the impact of the Nitish Kumar-led NDA in Bihar transferring the first instalment of Rs 10,000 to the accounts of 75 lakh Jeevika Didis last month, the Mahagathbandhan has raised the stakes by promising these community mobilisers permanent jobs and a monthly salary of Rs 30,000 if voted to power in Bihar. It has also promised to initiate direct benefit transfers of Rs 2,500 per month for the next five years to each eligible woman in the state under its Mai-Bahin Maa Yojana, starting December.
Unveiling the opposition alliance’s manifesto here, its chief ministerial candidate Tejashwi Yadav also promised one member from each family in Bihar a permanent job in the first 20 days if the Mahagathbandhan forms a government in the state where polling is due in two phases next month, followed by counting of votes on 14 November.
The RJD and its allies including the Congress and CPI (ML) have made employment a central theme of their campaign, while also targeting the NDA for not doing enough for the youth of Bihar. To that extent, the manifesto promises a stipend of Rs 2,000-3,000 to all unemployed youth. The manifesto, titled ‘Bihar ka Tejaswhi Prann’, also promises to exempt tari (toddy) from the state’s prohibition law which came into force in 2016.
Addressing a press conference here, the RJD leader branded the prohibition law brought in by Nitish Kumar’s government an utter failure. He also said that not only will the Mahagathbandhan form the next government, it will also usher in a ‘new Bihar’.
ये इंडिया गठबंधन का संकल्प पत्र दलों और दिलों का प्रण है। एक-एक घोषणा दिल से लिया हुआ प्रण है, अपने हर प्रण को प्राण झोंक कर पूरा करेंगे।
एक बिहारी दिल से जब कुछ ठान लेता है तो फिर बिना हासिल किए रुकता नहीं है। pic.twitter.com/wxQXH11tU9
— Tejashwi Yadav (@yadavtejashwi) October 28, 2025
A blueprint for how one member from each family will get a government job will be presented in the coming days, he added. Another key promise in the manifesto is restoration of the Old Pension Scheme (OPS) for government employees.
It further promises to pass a law in the Bihar legislature to increase the 50 percent cap on reservation in proportion to the population, and to forward the same to the Centre for inclusion in the Ninth Schedule of the Constitution.
“The current 20 percent reservation for the Most Backward Classes in panchayats and municipal bodies will be increased to 30 percent. For Scheduled Castes (SCs), this limit will be raised from 16 percent to 20 percent, and reservations for Scheduled Tribes (STs) will also be increased proportionately,” states the Mahagathbandhan manifesto.
Citing the Right to Education (RTE) Act 2010 brought in by the then UPA government at the Centre, the manifesto promises to reserve half of the seats earmarked for admission in private schools under it for children from Backward Classes, SC and ST communities. “Reservation in admission to all private educational institutions in the state will be implemented under Article 15(5) of the Constitution. All Dalit and OBC students will be provided with school uniforms, books, scholarships and hostel facilities,” it adds.
The manifesto states that laws dealing with atrocities against Dalits will be strictly enforced.
Further, keeping in line with welfare schemes that are now a staple of each election cycle, the Mahagathbandhan too has promised 200 units of electricity free of cost, besides a law to rein in microfinance companies and a Special Investigation Team (SIT) dedicated to ensuring the recovery of deposits of Bihar residents who invested in Sahara group firms.
•वर्ष 2005 से पहले अशिक्षा, बेरोजगारी और पलायन बिहार की नियति बन गई थी। युवाओं की उच्च शिक्षा के लिए अच्छे संस्थान नहीं थे, युवाओं के सामने अंधकार था, युवाओं को उच्च शिक्षा के लिए राज्य से बाहर जाना पड़ता था।
•बिहार के युवाओं को अन्य राज्यों में ही रोजगार ढूंढ़ना पड़ता था तथा…— Nitish Kumar (@NitishKumar) October 28, 2025
It also promises free health insurance of up to Rs 25 lakh to eligible beneficiaries.
“Competitive exam forms will be free of cost and exam fee will be waived; free travel to and from exam centres will be facilitated; strict laws will be enacted against paper leaks; poor students from Classes 8-12 will receive free tablets. Bihar will have a college or university every 70 km,” adds the manifesto released Tuesday.
(Edited by Amrtansh Arora)
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