Bihar polls: Race for women votes heats up with cash freebies

Weeks before the crucial Bihar Assembly elections, hundreds of grassroots workers from both the ruling and Opposition camps have suddenly intensified their outreach to women, urging them to fill out forms for promised “freebies”.

The two rival camps appear locked in a fierce contest to woo women voters, each offering cash incentives as the key lure. Workers of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s JD(U) and its allies, BJP, LJP(R), and HAM, are moving through villages and towns to get women to apply for the Mukhya Mantri Mahila Rozgar Yojana. On the other hand, Opposition workers from the RJD and Congress are pressing women to sign up for the Mai-Behan Maan Yojana.

Race for women’s votes

The key difference lies in timing. Being in power, Nitish Kumar not only announced his promise late last month (August) but also launched the scheme earlier this month, just ahead of the polls. In contrast, the RJD and Congress are pledging benefits for women only if they come to power. “We, as ruling NDA workers, are actively involved in creating awareness and motivating women to apply for the Mukhya Mantri Rozgar Yojana,” said a senior JD(U) woman leader.

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A new player in the freebies race is the Jan Suraj Party, led by strategist-turned-politician Prashant Kishor, popularly known as PK. Its workers have been knocking on doors to get women to apply for a Parivar Labh Card. Interestingly, PK, once a vocal critic of both the NDA and RJD over their populist promises, now finds his own party competing in the same arena ahead of the Bihar elections.

The ongoing rush to get women enrolled for promised freebies has emerged as a new trend in Bihar’s election season. Never before have parties engaged in such a registration spree to woo voters, especially women, adding a fresh twist to the pre-poll campaign.

After weeks of populist announcements aimed at different sections of society, particularly women, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar delivered what is seen as his masterstroke. On September 7, he launched the Mukhya Mantri Mahila Rozgar Yojana (Chief Minister Women’s Employment Scheme) to promote self-employment among women. The scheme promises financial aid to one woman from every family in the state.

Cash transfer sparks frenzy

Under the plan, the first installment of Rs 10,000 will be transferred directly to beneficiaries’ bank accounts before the polls, followed by an additional Rs 2 lakh six months later. Eligibility criteria are minimal: the applicant and her husband must not be income-tax payees.

The Nitish Kumar–led NDA government last month announced a cash transfer of Rs 10,000 to 2.77 crore women in the state, aimed at helping them start small businesses of their choice. According to officials in Jeevika, the state’s rural livelihood programme and the nodal agency for the scheme, over one crore women have already applied. The government is expected to begin direct transfers to beneficiaries’ bank accounts after September 20. “There is a big rush for it among women,” said an official associated with the rollout.

The rush is evident both in villages and towns, with women crowding cyber cafes and online shops to file applications. “In just the last three days, dozens of women have come to my shop to apply. The number is bound to grow as many first ensure their inclusion in a self-help group under the Jeevika programme, a mandatory condition for eligibility,” said Rahul Kumar, who runs a cyber cafe.

Will freebies outweigh caste?

A political analyst described the scheme as the most attractive pre-poll offer ever made to women in Bihar. Never before, he noted, has such a direct cash incentive of Rs 10,000 been announced for women ahead of elections, calling it a potential “game changer.” “Women cutting across caste, class and community appear eager to benefit from the scheme. But whether this will translate into votes for Nitish Kumar is uncertain, as the dominant mood for change is palpable across the state,” he said.

He pointed out that women-centric welfare schemes were first pioneered in Tamil Nadu and later adopted by other southern states such as Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, before spreading to northern states in the form of cash transfers.

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Pushpender Kumar, former professor at Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), Patna, termed the move part of a “well-calculated strategy” where paying cash to women has become the “new normal” to win elections. “More cash to women is now a tested tool to secure votes. The BJP used it effectively in Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra, and the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha in Jharkhand. Nitish Kumar and his rivals are attempting the same in Bihar. Whether it will succeed, however, is unclear, because, in Bihar, caste still outweighs everything else for most voters,” he said.

Rivals counter Nitish’s move

Studies, including those by Delhi-based CSDS, show that political parties are increasingly relying on cash transfer schemes to win women’s support.

The RJD and Congress are aggressively pushing the Mai-Behan Maan Yojana, which promises Rs 2,500 a month to women from poor and deprived households. Their workers, spread across more than 8,000 panchayats and hundreds of towns, are helping women fill out forms in large numbers.

Ironically, BJP and JD(U) leaders have accused RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav of misleading women with “hollow promises” and questioned the scheme’s financial feasibility. Tejashwi, who announced the plan in December 2024, defended it, saying women deserve such support and pledged to implement it if the Mahagathbandhan wins power. Congress state president Rajesh Ram added, “This is our joint scheme, and unlike NDA’s jumlas, we will implement it like Telangana, Karnataka, Himachal Pradesh and Jharkhand.”

Meanwhile, Prashant Kishor’s Jan Suraj Party has entered the fray with its Parivar Labh Card, promising Rs 20,000 per family each month if elected. The party claims to have already collected 50 lakh applications.

High stakes, old rivalries

More than any other party, Nitish Kumar’s JD(U) appears desperate to regain women voters, once seen as its loyal base until the 2020 setback, when the party won just 43 of 115 seats, its worst tally since 2005. The BJP, contesting 110 seats, emerged stronger with 74, while JD(U) blamed Chirag Paswan’s LJP(R) for denting its strike rate.

Since 2010, women have largely been silent supporters of Nitish, but his poor performance in 2020 raised questions. Now, at 74 and facing heavy anti-incumbency, he confronts a formidable challenger in Tejashwi Yadav, the young RJD leader less than half his age, who is aggressively wooing women with cash promises.

The Election Commission is likely to announce the poll schedule later this month. Yet the NDA has not formally projected Nitish as its CM face, fuelling speculation, though JD(U) insists there will be “no compromise.” On the Opposition side, Tejashwi is projected as the CM candidate, but ally Congress remains cautious, angling for more seats.

Ultimately, Bihar is set for a direct Nitish–Tejashwi battle, with Prashant Kishor’s Jan Suraj Party a factor, but not a contender for power.

Why women’s votes matter

In Bihar, women consistently outvote men, often shaping poll outcomes. Election Commission data shows women’s turnout has surpassed men’s in every Assembly election since 2010. In 2020, 59.7% of women voted against 54.7% of men; in 2015, the gap was 60.5% to 53.3%; and in 2010, 59.6% to 54.9%. Analysts attribute this to large-scale male migration. “Over 50–70 lakh men leave Bihar for work, missing polling day, while women at home cast their ballots. This naturally boosts women’s turnout,” observed a political watcher.

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With 3.5 crore women voters, half of Bihar’s electorate, women play a decisive role in elections. In 2020, despite a neck-and-neck contest between NDA and the Mahagathbandhan, women outvoted men in 167 of 243 constituencies, particularly in the flood-prone Kosi-Mithilanchal belt, where the NDA’s lead helped it retain power.

Studies show Nitish Kumar has long drawn strong support from women across caste and religion, owing to his empowerment policies. Over his tenure, Nitish has launched schemes such as free bicycles for schoolgirls, 35% job reservation for women in government posts, and initiatives to boost girls’ education, said former minister and JD(U) spokesperson Neeraj Kumar. He imposed a liquor ban after women’s demand, and introduced 50 per cent reservation for women in panchayats and urban local bodies, the first such move in India. He has also built a loyal base among 1.4 crore Jeevika Didis linked to self-help groups.

The upcoming Assembly election will test whether Nitish’s women-centric policies still resonate, or whether cash transfers and a demand for change will swing Bihar towards Tejashwi.