Nitish Kumar, Lalan Paswan and Hemant Soren
In Jharkhand, the pension factor played a major role in Hemant Soren’s return to power. In Bihar too, the NDA government is trying to resolve its issues with the help of the same pension factor. There are calls for an increase in pension for senior citizens, widows and persons with disabilities in Bihar.
PPP MPs further fueled the complaint in Parliament on Tuesday. Lalan Paswan said inflation has increased but pension amounts have not. He demanded Rs 2,000-2,000 per month to each pensioner.
Role of pensions in Hemant’s comeback
CSDS-Lokniti releases post-election survey. In the survey, 52% of pensioners said they would vote for India. Only 35% of pensioners support the BJP.
Similarly, 41 per cent of Jharkhandites appreciate pensions. According to the CSDS, the votes of the poor and lower-middle class were unilaterally in favor of Hemant because of the pension scheme.
49% of BPL voters said they would vote for the Indian Union. In comparison, only 38% supported the NDA. After the formation of the Jharkhand government, Hemant launched the Sarvajan Pension Scheme.
Due to this scheme, Jharkhand has over 26 lakh pensioners who receive Rs 600 per month. After the elections, Hemant promised to increase the amount to Rs 2,500 per month.
The Hemant Soren alliance won 56 of the 81 seats in Jharkhand. The opposition coalition won only 24 seats. Jairam Mahato’s party won one seat.
next year’s parliamentary election
Assembly elections will be held in Bihar in a year’s time. The NDA alliance is currently the government here. Nitish Kumar is the chief minister. To continue its victory in Maharashtra and Haryana, the BJP is focusing more on Bihar.
In the Lok Sabha elections, the PPP alliance won 30 out of 40 seats. The NDA is also hoping to maintain its lead in the Assembly elections. To do this, NDAs must be kept simple for senior citizens and women.
Pension a major political issue in Bihar
Pension has become a major political issue in Bihar. According to the state government, around 30 lakh people are included in the Chief Minister’s Pension Beneficiaries Scheme, where they receive Rs 400 per month. As per the government rules, Rs 400 is given to people between 60 and 79 years of age and Rs 500 to those above 80 years of age.
Recently, Jansuraj’s party attacked the government over the plan. Party founder Prashant Kishore said, In this era of inflation, what will happen to Rs 400? PK has announced an increase in the amount upon the arrival of the government.
It is said that the main opposition party RJD may also make this an issue come election time. This is why NDA MLAs have started raising the pension issue.
243 seats voted, 122 is the magic number
Elections to 243 seats in the Bihar Assembly are proposed to be held in October 2025. To form the government in Bihar, 122 seats must be won. In the 2020 assembly elections, the NDA won a total of 126 seats.
This Bihar election is likely to be a triangular election. On one side is the NDA alliance composed of JDU, BJP, LJP (R) and HAM, and on the other side is the Indian alliance composed of RJD, Congress and ML.
Prashant Kishor’s Jan Suraj is also preparing to contest from 243 assembly seats. The PK Party is trying to triangulate the entire election. The party received 10% of the vote in the recent by-election.
