Parties take yatra route in Bihar as politicians gear up for Assembly polls

While CM Nitish Kumar is seeking to consolidate his party's woman vote base, Tejashwi Yadav is trying an image makeover for the RJD

The word “yatra”, like its English equivalent “journey” or “tour”, is not loaded with political meaning. It would at best mean taxiing before election campaigns (prachaar abhiyaan), with all their cut and thrust, take off. This is what is happening now in Bihar with Assembly elections less than a year away (the term of the Assembly ends on November 22, 2025).

From Chief Minister Nitish Kumar to the leader of the Opposition, the Rashtriya Janata Dal’s (RJD’s) Tejashwi Yadav, politicians of all hues have, or are planning to, embark on yatras to reach out to the electorate and feel the political pulse. 

Kumar will set off on his Mahila Samvad Yatra next month. It was scheduled to begin on December 15, but was later postponed due to the timing being “inauspicious”. It will be the 73-year-old leader’s 15th such state-wide tour. During the proposed yatra, Kumar will interact with women voters, chiefly Jeevika Didis —members of state-sponsored women self-help groups (SHGs), and review the progress of his government’s Saat Nishchaya Yojana (seven-resolve programme). 

Yadav, 35, has kicked off the third phase of his Karyakarta Samvad Yatra. During the yatra, Tejashwi will meet party workers and leaders. On Saturday, he reached out to women, considered a support base for the Janata Dal (United), or JD(U), by promising Rs 2,500 A MONTH to women in the state under the Mai-Behan Maan Yojana. “This scheme will be launched and implemented within one month of the formation of our government in Bihar,” Yadav said in Darbhanga during his Karyakarta Samvad Yatra. In this yatra, Yadav will try to shed the traditional image of his party and reach out to every section of society, not just the traditional Muslim-Yadav support base of the RJD. 

The pitch

  Kumar is upbeat after the recent bypoll sweep by the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), which won all the four Assembly seat. JD(U) leaders feel the yatra will build on the momentum. 

“In his two-decade stint as chief minister, this will be his 15th yatra, which speaks volumes about his acceptance across all the sections of society. What he has done for women is known to everyone, be it 50 per cent reservation in panchayats and 35 per cent in jobs, 14 million memberships to women in SHGs, or prohibition in the state. With this yatra, he will assess what more could be done,” said JD(U) Spokesperson Neeraj Kumar. 

However, the primary reason behind this yatra, according to party insiders, is to show that the JD(U) supremo is still fit for another term. “Recently there has been a lot of talk about his (Nitish Kumar’s) ability to rule. He is fit and these programmes will show this to his voters,” said another JD(U) leader.   

But Yadav said last week: “Nitish Chacha aab thak chuke hain (Nitish Uncle is tired now) and a group of ministers rules on his behalf now. Therefore, there has been misgovernance in Bihar.” He has been continuously raising this issue. The power corridors in Patna are abuzz with whispers about Kumar’s health. However, the JD(U) has rejected these as malicious rumours. 

During the yatra, Yadav stayed invested in promises. One was giving 200 units of free electricity to consumers in the state if the RJD was voted to power. Later, he promised expenses on accommodation and travel for job aspirants would be borne by the state exchequer. 

The politics

  “These yatras are the most potent way to flex political muscles. All political parties experiment with them,” said a political analyst. Not just the RJD and the JD(U), Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Giriraj Singh recently embarked on his Hindu Swabhiman Yatra in the Seemanchal, a minority-dominated region of the state. Former election strategist and Jan Suraj Party chief Prashan Kishor also did extensive tours across the state over the last several months. 

During his yatra, Kumar will meet women voters from five panchayats in every district and get their feedback on the implementation of the Saat Nishchaya programme. JD(U) insiders say Kumar may announce a scheme for Bihar’s women voters. It is being speculated that it could be on the lines of Jharkhand’s Maiya Samman Yojna, which is believed to have contributed to the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha-led alliance’s win in the state, or Madhya Pradesh’s Ladli Behna and Maharashtra’s Majhi Ladki Bahin Yojana, all of which entail a monthly allowance to women, and helped the BJP retain power in Madhya Pradesh in December 2023 Assembly polls and in the just concluded Maharashtra Assembly polls. 

Moreover, Kumar has skilfully fended off attacks on him not only from Opposition leaders but also allies, said political analyst

Arun Kumar. 

“He needs to demonstrate his existence and identity in the face of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) rank and file’s pressure to get rid of him. What better way than this is there to show his popularity?” he said. 

In his yatra, Yadav criticised Kumar over issues like special status for Bihar, lack of jobs, and women’s empowerment. “Special status will bring jobs to the state and help in our development. However, it’s surprising that the JD(U) has gone silent on the issue while the Modi government runs with its support,” Yadav told party workers last week. 

“In 2020, victory eluded him by a whisker,” said a party leader. “This time he is trying to make sure that it doesn’t happen again. Tejashwi has been trying hard to undo the image that the RJD’s return will again lead to jungle raj. It’s a

much bigger public relations battle for him.” 

Intriguing, noted a JD(U) leader, is the silence of the BJP’s state unit leadership in this verbal jousts between the JD(U) and the RJD. “For the BJP, the survival of its government in New Delhi is most important. It will not do anything to antagonise Kumar,” Arun Kumar said. 

The writer is a Patna-based independent journalist