‘Govt job to every family’ promise seems to have sunk MGB in Bihar

It’s not quite often that the Indian electoral system throws up shocking outcomes for both top contenders in a poll. But we have seen that in the recent Bihar elections. That’s the beauty of Indian democracy.

The National Democracy Alliance (NDA) mainly comprising the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Janata Dal (United) and Lok Janshakti Party (RV) secured a massive win by pocketing 202 of the 243 seats up for grabs in the Bihar Assembly. That way, the alliance won four seats in every five seats in the state with a strike rate of a staggering 82 per cent. The Janata Dal (United) has been in power for the last two decades. Its leader Nitish Kumar has stayed put in the Chief Minister’s post for those many years. Despite such a long innings in the power corridors, NDA romped home with such a stupendous victory that its scale must have come as a pleasant shock for its constituents and leaders. For the Mahagathbandhan (MGB), NDA’s principal rival, the margin of defeat was shocking beyond imagination. The MGB, consisting mainly Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and Congress, secured a measly 35 seats with a strike rate that was an abysmal 14 per cent. RJD fell to the third place in party-wise seat list for the first time since 2010. It suffered such an ignominious loss after being in opposition for nearly 20 years!

But then what was the single biggest factor that led to the humiliating defeat of the opposition alliance. It has been often noticed that at least one key factor leads to the defeat of a political party in every election. Other factors add fuel to the fire triggered by that single factor.

For instance, in Telangana, the Bharat Rashtra Samithi-led by Kalvakuntla Chandrasekhar Rao lost power in Telangana in 2023. The primary reason for that defeat was severe anti-incumbency against sitting MLAs, who were in fray. That was the key factor that led to the defeat of BRS, though several other factors also contributed to the downfall.

In Bihar, the single factor that did the Opposition in was the promise of RJD chief Tejashwi Prasad Yadav to provide one government job to every family in the state. In October, a month before Bihar started voting, he announced that he would bring in what he called ‘Job Act’ within 20 days after coming to power, to ensure that every family in the State would get a government job in 20 months. But can such a promise be implemented? As per the 2023 caste census, Bihar has nearly 2.76 crore families. At present, the state has around 20 lakh government employees. That means an additional 2.56 crore government jobs are needed to be created in order to implement the promise that Tejashwi has made. That will be impossible, to say the least. The RJD leader was reduced to a laughing stock, while neutral voters moved away from the opposition alliance, doubting its seriousness on the promises it made.

Interestingly, Congress, being a national party, did not object to that poll promise. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi should have warned the RJD leader about the pitfalls of such ‘foolish’ promises. But that did not happen.

Did Tejashwi and Rahul forget that they were up against two formidable walls – Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Nitish who did not yield to rivals in more than two decades? It looks so going by the way they behaved. Obviously, the Mahagathbandhan leaders did not do their homework well.Therefore, it’s no surprise that the performance of the Congress was also dismal in the polls. It contested in 61 seats, but won only six, just one more than that of Hyderabad-based All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM). The strike rate of the Grand Old Party (GOP) was less than 10 per cent. The Congress is currently inpower in Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka and Telangana. Of these, Himachal Pradesh and Karnataka have turned out to be bad examples when it comes to the governance, implementation of poll promises, corruption and what not. The Congress government in Karnataka is perennially hitting headlines for the collapse of critical infrastructure in Bengaluru, India’s information technology capital. People residing in Bengaluru say that overall governance in the state is in bad shape as internal squabbles are on the rise.

In Telangana too, corruption has become a major issue. Both these states are home to a tech-savvy population, which is vocal on the internet. So, any news about these states spreads fast. Further, these two states are also home to lakhs of migrants from Bihar. When they went to vote in their home state, they would have carried with them the message as to what was happening in Congress-ruled states. The financial troubles that Himachal Pradesh is facing are well known. Without setting its house in order in the states under its rule and showcasing them as the best examples of the governance in the country, there is no way Congress will win elections in any other state. This factor is also important in those states where the GOP is a junior partner.

Further, Rahul Gandhi’s ‘Voter Adhikar Yatra’ also did not create positive vibes in Bihar as the MGB lost all the seats along the route. The Gandhi scion should take up issues that resonate with people at the ground level.

Apart from the government job promise, the Mahagathbandhan’s inability to close the seat sharing deal in advance also hit the political grouping hard. It is a known fact that RJD banks on the Muslim-Yadav combination. But support from the Yadav community came down in the 2025 election. An analysis of a post poll survey revealed that only 74 per cent of Yadavs voted for MGB this time against 84 per cent in the 2020 Assembly polls. Are Yadavs also getting disillusioned with the RJD? No surprise Bihar chanted the Ni-Mo (Nitish-Modi) mantra as MGB scored far too many self-goals.

All said and done, the Bihar election outcome has given a clear signal to the political parties that they can’t take voters for granted by promising the moon in their manifestos. To stay in the reckoning, political parties need to tread carefully and make promises that can be delivered without any hassles. Otherwise, they are certain to face the voters’ wrath. That’s the bottom line.