Lalu Mocks Nitish But JD(U)’s Bet On ‘Better Half’ Of Bihar’s Electorate May Pay Off In 2025 Polls – News18

Last Updated:December 11, 2024, 06:00 IST

Once a game changer with policies including bicycles for girls in 2006 and a liquor ban in 2015, Nitish Kumar’s JD(U) is now planning to double down on women voters again by designing multiple schemes for them

“Nayan senkne jaa rahe hain (He is going for the view)” — Rashtriya Janata Dal head Lalu Prasad Yadav mocked Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar when asked to comment on the Janata Dal (United) president’s renewed outreach towards women. However, no one can probably ignore how the JD(U)’s focus on women voters has defined Nitish Kumar’s politics and almost scripted his victory in Bihar’s highly charged, caste-driven electoral dynamics.

Once a game changer with policies including bicycles for girls in 2006 and a liquor ban in 2015, Nitish Kumar’s JD(U) is now planning to double down on women voters again by designing multiple schemes for them.

The welfare schemes may include monthly financial assistance to secure this decisive bloc ahead of the assembly elections next year, a senior JD(U) MP told News18.

“We are already in election mode. The discussion about designing the election manifesto, the focus areas for the campaign, and the talks regarding seat-sharing between JD(U) and our alliance partners have begun. We do not know what RJD is up to. It seems that Lalu ji lost his composure seeing the bypoll results,” said the JD(U) MP, known to be close to Nitish Kumar. “At a time when our party is planning better women-centric schemes, Lalu ji is busy mocking our leader. It shows his frustration and despair.”

Nitish Kumar was attending his party’s Mahila Samvad Yatra, a programme aimed at engaging women voters and highlighting his government’s schemes. It was this women’s outreach effort that prompted his political opponent, Lalu Prasad Yadav, to pass the remark. Reacting sharply, Rajiv Ranjan Prasad, national spokesperson of JD(U), said that continuous defeats have left Lalu Prasad Yadav “frustrated and disoriented”, causing him to “lose his mental balance”.

“After the crushing defeat in the Lok Sabha elections and the complete wipeout of the RJD and Mahagathbandhan in the four-seat assembly by-elections, it is clear that the RJD will face an existential crisis in the 2025 Bihar assembly elections,” Prasad added.

Women voters as a decisive bloc

Lalu’s jest may bring him accolades from his alliance partners, but there is a deeper political strategy being followed by Nitish Kumar, who is known to have pioneered Bihar’s focus on women voters and successfully leveraged it in 2015 with his promise of a liquor ban.

Now, with the 2025 assembly elections looming, the Bihar chief minister is once again at it, crafting policies and reaffirming his party’s inroads among women voters, which is becoming increasingly pivotal in the state’s caste-driven political chessboard.

Almost a year ahead of the elections, JD(U) has already begun working on multiple women-centric schemes, which party insiders believe could include monthly financial assistance for women voters, along the lines of welfare schemes seen in other states.

‘Mahila’ vs Muslim-Yadav votes

However, this time, the stakes are high. “This strategy isn’t new for Nitish ji. He has consistently tried to work to uplift the women and helped empower them. His emphasis on initiatives like 50% reservation for women in Panchayati Raj in 2006 and the prohibition of liquor in 2015 has already cemented his image as a champion of women’s welfare,” said another senior JD(U) leader. “We used to get a reasonable share of Muslim votes, but after our alliance with the BJP, the Muslim-Yadav combination may go to the RJD. However, under the current political circumstances, we need to ensure that the larger chunk of women voters come to us.”

With the BJP aggressively targeting women voters in other states and the RJD weaving its own caste-based narrative, Nitish Kumar is now positioning himself as a leader beyond caste divisions, focusing on economic upliftment and empowerment for women. The upcoming women-centric schemes are likely to be the centrepiece of the JD(U)’s campaign, as the party now seeks to secure its place in the rapidly shifting dynamics of Bihar’s political landscape.