Bihar elections: Tejashwi Yadav's strategy to lure women voters, contract workers revealed

Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav on Wednesday announced that all contractual workers engaged in various Bihar government departments and around two lakh community mobilisers' among 'Jeevika Didis' will be made permanent if his alliance comes to power in the state.

 

Tejashwi Yadav also promised that these community mobilisers will also be given a monthly salary of ₹30,000 per month if the opposition alliance forms a government in the state after the ensuing assembly polls. The state government is spearheading the World Bank-aided Bihar Rural Livelihoods Project (BRLP), locally known as 'Jeevika', with the objective of social and economic empowerment of the rural poor. Women associated with the project are called 'Jeevika Didis'.

 

Talking to reporters here, Yadav said that the interest on loans that 'Jeevika Didis' have taken will be waived if the RJD-led bloc comes to power in the state.

 

"We have decided that all Jeevika Didis will be made permanent and accorded the status of government employees. Their salary will also be increased to ₹30,000 per month... Each one of them would receive an extra allowance of ₹2,000 per month and insurance coverage of ₹5 lakh," Tejashwi Yadav announced while addressing a press conference in Patna. The Mahagatbandhan alliance leader added that the interest on existing loans of Jeevika Didis would be waived, and interest-free credit would be provided for the next two years.

 

Women contractual workers are not given a couple of days' leave, the RJD leader pointed out. "Their services are terminated without any explanation, 18 per cent GST is deducted from their salary every month, and female employees are not given two days' leave, and we will be changing all this," he reportedly said.

 

The 243-member Bihar Assembly will go to the polls on November 6 and 11, and the counting of votes will take place on November 14.

India