Tejashwi pledges ₹2,500 aid to women under new scheme if RJD wins in Bihar

The 'Mai Bahin Maan Yojana', promised by RJD-Congress in Bihar, offers ₹2,500 monthly to women in vulnerable communities if they win the 2025 Assembly elections

Leader of the Opposition in Bihar and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav on Thursday promised to launch the "Mai Bahin Maan Yojana" across Bihar if his party comes to power, declaring that "change is bound to happen" in the poll-bound state.

While interacting with reporters, Tejashwi said, "The Maa Yojana will be started, and the Beti Yojana will be started. The Mai Bahin Maan Yojana will be started. A large number of women from every block and panchayat in Bihar have gathered, indicating a strong desire for change. This time, everyone wants change, and change will happen."

The Mai Bahin Maan Yojana is an electoral promise by the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and Congress in Bihar, India. The scheme promises a monthly financial assistance of ₹2,500 to women in financially vulnerable and backward communities if the coalition forms the government in the upcoming 2025 Bihar Assembly elections.

On Wednesday, Yadav had attacked the ruling NDA government, branding it a "'Nakalchi' (copycat) government" lacking vision. Speaking at the launch of the "Ati Pichda Nyay Sankalp" programme in Patna, he warned that the current government may adopt policies originally announced by his party.

While addressing a gathering, the RJD leader said, "This government is a 'Nakalchi' (copycat) government. They have no vision. Now, it's possible that they may copy what we've announced today...""People are saying, 'Do hazar paanch se pachchis, Bahur Hue Nitish'. Nitish Kumar has been hijacked; he doesn't know what's happening, he's in a trance. The Bihar government is being run by two people: Amit Shah and Narendra Modi," Yadav said.

Yadav further accused certain officials of running "corrupt rackets", "misusing Nitish Kumar's image" to deplete Bihar's coffers for personal gain. "There are some corrupt officials who are against reservation and the upliftment of backward classes. And if the government is formed, action will be taken," he added.

Earlier, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge announced the implementation of a ten-point program if the party and its allies come to power after the polls, and Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, alleged that the rights of the citizens are being "snatched away not just in Bihar but in the entire nation"

"We will implement a 10-point program when we come to power in Bihar...We have to uplift those belonging to the Backwards Classes, the Dalits and others who are deprived of their rights...," Kharge said addressing the gathering in Patna.