Bihar Budget Ahead of Assembly Elections Sell Dreams

Nitish Kumar Govt Opens Poll Pot with Bagful of Promises

By Manish Anand

New Delhi, March 4: Bihar Budget is a bagful of promises in tune with election year trends. The Nitish Kumar government announced in Budget almost everything that the people had been demanding for decades.

Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary, who holds finance portfolio, presented the Budget 2025 in the Assembly yesterday. As an eager salesman, Choudhary spoke of the people from almost all the districts in Bihar flying to their destinations.

He announced a greenfield airport in Sultanganj in the Bhagalpur district. The Purnea Airport, which has been alleged to be excessively delayed, will soon begin operating, said the minister. Choudhary is the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) nominee in the Nitish Kumar-led government.

Choudhary said that flights will operate from Purnea within three months. The Bihar Assembly elections will be held in October this year.

The NDA consisting of the Janata Dal (United), the BJP and others has almost been in power in Bihar uninterrupted since 2005. Two decades later, the Bihar Budget announced opening a degree college in each of the districts.

After hosting women’s hocket international tournament in Gaya, the state government has shown interest in boosting sporting infrastructure in the state. The Bihar Budget announced proposals for sports facilities in each district in the state.

Beginning of End of Nitish Kumar Era Reveals in Bihar

On heels of Union Budget announcing setting up of Makhana Board, the Bihar Budget also proposed fresh impetus to the food processing industries. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is leading in setting narrative around Makhana Board to set a template for the Assembly elections.

With Bihar Food Processing Policy-2025, the state government is seeking to boost farmers’ income. The state government is betting on food processing as the bait to attract investment. Bihar hopes that the narrative around ‘Makhana Board’ will have spillover effects to spur job growth.

Union Budget last year had announced setting up an industrial node in Gaya. The Bihar Budget 2025 announced that an “industrial park will be set up in 1670 acres at Dobhi, Gaya at a cost of ₹1344 crores”. Gaya is a major railway junction on the eastern dedicated freight corridor that connects Ludhiana in Punjab to Dankuni in West Bengal, which is being developed with assistance from the World Bank.

The Bihar Budget 2025 also announced “Khadi malls in Darbhanga, Munger, Gaya, Saran, Bhagalpur and Saharsa”. “Multi model logistics park will be set up in Jaitia, Fatuha. One lakh people will get employment with the setting up of the park,” announced Choudhary.

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About The Author

Manish Anand

Manish Anand is a senior journalist with more than two decades of hardcore reporting on beats such as Prime Minister’s Office, Parliament, BJP, Congress, Planning Commission, NITI Aayog, and scores of Union Ministries.

His past has been with The New Indian Express, The Asian Age/Deccan Chronicle, and The Statesman.

For about 15 years, Manish was also a regular commentator and host for talks on AIR on foreign affairs.

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