Tejashwi hits out at NDA, accuses party of failing Bihar on all development fronts

A political war of numbers has erupted in Bihar after Leader of Opposition Tejashwi Yadav accused the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government of failing the state despite years of a “double-engine government”. In a lengthy social media post on Thursday morning, Tejashwi alleged that Bihar continues to rank at the bottom of most development indicators even after decades of NDA rule.

Tejashwi claimed that Bihar remains the “most unique state in the country” where the NDA has governed for years with support from both the state and the Centre, yet the state still performs poorly across several socio-economic indicators. According to him, Bihar is the poorest state in the country, has the highest migration, the highest levels of crime and corruption, the highest unemployment, and the highest level of multidimensional poverty.

He further alleged that the state records the lowest literacy rate, the lowest per capita income, the lowest farmers’ income, the lowest per capita investment, the lowest electricity consumption and the lowest computer literacy in the country. Tejashwi also claimed that Bihar ranks among the weakest states in terms of quality education, healthcare infrastructure and industrial development. He said the state is lagging in almost every development indicator, accusing the government of avoiding accountability while running the administration through bureaucratic control, state resources and caste politics.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), however, strongly rejected Tejashwi’s claims and countered them with its own set of figures. Party spokesperson Neeraj Kumar said the current situation in Bihar should be compared with the period between 1990 and 2005 when the state was governed by Lalu Prasad Yadav and Rabri Devi.

According to Kumar, poverty in Bihar during that period was above 60 percent and the literacy rate was around 47 percent. He said the situation began to improve after the NDA government led by Nitish Kumar came to power in 2005.

Citing a report by NITI Aayog, BJP leaders claimed that multidimensional poverty in Bihar has fallen significantly over the years. According to the government’s figures, the poverty rate declined from 54.4 percent in 2005–06 to around 26.59 percent in 2022–23. The government claims that around 3.77 crore people have come out of poverty in this period, the second highest number in the country after Uttar Pradesh.

The BJP also highlighted improvements in employment and investment. According to the party, around 10 lakh government jobs have been provided and another 10 lakh employment opportunities have been created in the state. It also claimed that more than 3,500 industrial units have been established over the past two decades.

The government further said that Bihar’s exports have grown from around Rs 25 crore to nearly Rs 17,000 crore. BJP leaders also claimed that the unemployment rate in Bihar stood at around 3.9 percent in 2023–24, which they said is lower than the national average.

The political exchange also extended to the issue of law and order. BJP spokesperson Neeraj Kumar said that more than 3,600 murders were recorded in Bihar in 2001, while in recent years the number has declined to around 2,500. He cited National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data to claim that serious crimes have seen a decline in recent years.

The BJP also pointed to improvements in education and income levels. According to the government, Bihar’s literacy rate has increased from about 47 percent in 2001 to nearly 74 percent now. The state government said it has expanded the number of schools, established ICT laboratories and strengthened education infrastructure.

In terms of income, the government claimed that per capita income in Bihar has increased from around Rs 8,000 in 2005 to approximately Rs 76,000 at present.

The exchange between Tejashwi Yadav and BJP leaders has once again triggered a political debate over Bihar’s development record, with both sides presenting competing statistics to support their claims.

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