Bihar polls: PM Modi hails NDA's 'Sankalp Patra' as vision for "developed Bihar," Oppn asks for "sorry patra" instead

Patna (Bihar) [India], October 31 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday hailed the NDA's 'Sankalp Patra' for the upcoming Bihar Assembly elections for bringing forward the alliance's vision for a "self-reliant and developed Bihar."
Union Minister and BJP chief JP Nadda, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, Union Minister and Hindustan Awam Morcha (Secular) custodian Jitan Ram Manjhi, Union Minister and Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) chief Chirag Paswan, Rashtriya Lok Morcha chief Upendra Kushwaha and other key leaders jointly released the NDA's manifesto today.
The NDA has promised to provide over 1 crore government jobs and employment opportunities, conduct a skills census to provide skills-based employment, and establish mega skill centres in every district, transforming Bihar into a 'Global Skill Training' Centre.
Sharing an X post, PM Modi wrote, "The NDA's manifesto for the Bihar Assembly elections clearly brings forward our vision for a self-reliant and developed Bihar. It reflects our commitment to making life easier for the farmers, brothers and sisters, youth companions, mothers and sisters here, as well as all my family members in the state."
He expressed confidence that the NDA would receive people's support in the upcoming polls and said that the "double-engine government" has led to all-around development in Bihar.
"The state's double-engine government has left no stone unturned in ensuring all-around development of Bihar, as a result of which our state has witnessed major transformations. We are committed to further accelerating this momentum and establishing good governance as the foundation of prosperity for every individual. I am confident that these efforts of ours will receive the full support of the people," the Prime Minister wrote.
In the manifesto, the ruling alliance has also promised to provide women with financial assistance of up to Rs 2 lakh to promote prosperity and self-reliance through the 'Mukhyamantri Mahila Rojgar Yojana'.
The NDA has promised to make 1 crore women 'Lakhpati Didi'. According to the manifesto, the NDA promises to give Rs 10 lakh to various occupational groups belonging to the extremely backward classes.
Under the 'Kapurgari Thakur Kisan Samman Nidhi', farmers will receive an annual benefit of Rs 3,000, totalling Rs 9,000, as per the manifesto.
The manifesto also promises Metro train services to be introduced in 4 more cities in Bihar besides Patna, the opening of ten new industrial parks and a promise to attract investments of Rs 50 lakh cr in 5 years.
Addressing the press conference, Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary said, "Financial and social empowerment of Extremely Backward Classes is very important. Different categories of Extremely Backward Classes will be provided with financial assistance of Rs 10 Lakhs. The most important thing is that under the chairmanship of a retired Supreme Court judge, we will form a high-level committee which will assess the social and financial conditions of different communities under Extremely Backward Classes and make suggestions to the government for the upliftment of these communities."
BJP's Bihar chief Dilip Jaiswal stated that the manifesto represents the guarantee of PM Modi and the trust of Bihar CM Nitish Kumar.
"NDA's manifesto means the guarantee of PM Modi and the trust of Bihar CM Nitish Kumar. The public trusts the guarantees of PM Modi and Bihar CM Nitish Kumar," Jaiswal said.
Criticising Congress and RJD for misgovernance of Bihar, he added, "The public of Bihar will not forgive Rahul Gandhi and Tejashwi Yadav for the next 100 years as they ruined Bihar."
BJP MP Manoj Tiwari pitched the alliance's good governance plank, claiming that the NDA is synonymous with development, as well as crime-free and corruption-free governance.
"The NDA is the name of development. The NDA stands for crime-free, corruption-free governance. And I believe the people of Bihar should read this manifesto. Because whatever the BJP says, the NDA will definitely do it," Manoj Tiwari told ANI.
He claimed that due to the development efforts of the NDA government, many people who had migrated out of Bihar have started to return to the State.
"Bihar has progressed under our NDA rule. The people of Bihar have secured employment on a large scale due to the continuous development of infrastructure. Now, people from Bihar who used to work outside are coming back to Bihar," he said.
Meanwhile, the Mahagathbandhan leaders targeted the ruling NDA over the manifesto, calling for a "sorry patra" instead of the 'Sankalp Patra'. The ruling alliance's promise of providing 1 crore jobs became the talk of the political circles after the Mahagathbandhan's poll promise to provide a government job in every house in the State.
RJD leader and Mahagathbandhan's Chief Ministerial face Tejashwi Yadav hit out at the NDA's manifesto, claiming that the previous poll promises have not been fulfilled.
"We want to say that with what we have seen, the NDA should bring in a 'sorry patra' (apology manifesto) and apologise to the fourteen crore people of Bihar that even after ruling for twenty years, Bihar is one of the poorest states," Tejashwi Yadav told reporters here.
Decrying the lack of factories and investments in the state, the RJD leader added, "There is no factory, no investment. The government has failed in all sectors, so they should have brought an apology patra. If you see their false joke of twenty years, the promises they had made for twenty years. Every manifesto that they have brought for twenty years, that manifesto must also say what happened to us?"
Congress MP Jairam Ramesh took a dig at the NDA for holding a short press conference while announcing the manifesto.
In an X post, Ramesh said, "Just a few days ago, while listing the achievements of the NDA government in Bihar, the Prime Minister had said that young people are making reels on reels by taking advantage of cheap data. Perhaps taking inspiration from the same statement, today the NDA leaders in Bihar wrapped up the press conference for their election manifesto in just 26 seconds."
As Deputy CM Samrat Choudhary addressed the press, instead of CM Nitish Kumar, the Congress leader claimed that the JD(U) chief has not even read the manifesto.
"In fact, it's not really their fault either - in the last 20 years, they had nothing worthwhile to count in the name of achievements. They also know very well that they are not returning to power after the elections, so discussing the manifesto and facing the public's questions felt like a waste of time to them. The Chief Minister didn't utter a single word either. It's possible that he himself hasn't even read his manifesto properly, so he just formally went through the motions somehow and left immediately," he wrote.
Even Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav in Uttar Pradesh, questioned the NDA over the promise of one crore jobs in Bihar, asking, "Where are the jobs they promised in the last elections.
Speaking to reporters in Lucknow, Akhilesh Yadav criticised the JD(U) and the BJP-led NDA, alleging that they had not fulfilled the promises made during the last election.
He said, "Remember when the first manifesto was released in Goa? They said they would build new cities, smart cities. Tell me what the situation is today. These 1 crore jobs, which they are going to provide in Bihar... They had promised two crore jobs before that. Where are those jobs? They had promised to double farmers' income. Where is the doubling of farmers' income?"
Earlier on Tuesday, Mahagathbandhan had released its manifesto titled 'Bihar Ka Tejashwi Pran', outlining key promises ahead of the polls.
The voting for the 243-seat Bihar Assembly will be held in two phases on November 6 and 11. The results will be declared on November 14.