Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader and former Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav on Wednesday (October 22, 2025) announced that if he is voted to power, Jeevika Didis, who play the role of Community Mobilisers (CM), would be granted government employee status and given a salary of ₹30,000 per month.
There are around 1.4 crore Jeevika workers from about 11 lakh self-help groups.
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Mr. Yadav asserted that it would bring qualitative change in the lives of Jeevika Didis, who have been facing physical, mental, and financial exploitation due to the government’s wrong policies.
He further said that the State needs economic justice and announced that if the Mahagathbandhan forms the government, it would introduce the BETI and MAA schemes for women in the State.
“We will bring the BETI and MAA Yojana. B for Benefit, E for Education, T for Training and I for Income. This means that from the moment our daughters are born, a separate programme will be run for them until they earn income. We will also implement the MAA Yojana. M for Makaan, A for ‘Ann’ (food) and A for ‘Aamdani’ income. What Bihar needs now is economic justice,” Mr. Yadav said, while addressing the media at his official residence in Patna.
He further said, “The interest on loans taken by Jeevika Didis will be waived off and they will be given interest-free loans for two years, along with an allowance of ₹2,500 per month for performing other government tasks. Jeevika Didid would be covered with the insurance of up to ₹5 lakh.”
Mr. Yadav also announced that outsourced employees and all contract employees in the State would be made permanent.
“Contract employees facing physical, mental, and financial exploitation will now be made permanent in one go. They are being treated unfairly with 18% GST being deducted from their salaries,” he said.
Talks with Gehlot
Amid the tussle over the seat sharing, All India Congress Committee (AICC) senior observer for Bihar Assembly Polls Ashok Gehlot met RJD chief Lalu Prasad and Mr. Yadav in Patna.
Sources in the RJD said that all grievances regarding seat sharing and the Chief Ministerial face were resolved. Their meeting lasted for an hour.
After the meeting, when journalists asked him about the confusion in the Grand Alliance, Mr. Gehlot said, “There is a press conference tomorrow, all confusion would be cleared. The Grand Alliance will unitedly contest the Assembly election. Out of 243 seats, there are local issues on 5-10 seats, there might be a friendly fight there. There is no problem.”
In all likelihood, Mr Yadav would be officially declared the CM face of the Grand Alliance on Thursday, when the INDIA bloc leaders will hold a joint press conference. This may be the reason that Mr. Yadav has not yet started the election campaign.
INDIA bloc has fielded 253 candidates, 10 more than the total number of seats in the Bihar Assembly.
Mr. Yadav shared a photo from the meeting with Mr. Gehlot on ‘X’, saying, “Today, a meaningful electoral discussion took place with the former Chief Minister of Rajasthan, Ashok Gehlot ji.”
Earlier in the day, Mr. Yadav had ruled out “any dispute” within the INDIA bloc, saying that everything would be cleared tomorrow.
Shweta Suman’s nomination rejected
In another setback for the INDIA bloc, the nomination of RJD’s candidate Shewta Suman from Mohania Assembly seat reserved for Schedule Caste (SC) has been rejected by the Election Commission. Her nomination was rejected after the Commission found that she was a resident of Uttar Pradesh, making her ineligible to contest the election.
Ms. Suman sharply reacted to the rejection, saying, “The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its candidate are afraid of me and my party. My nomination has been cancelled as part of a conspiracy. Imagine, a person is not being allowed to contest elections, this is not a right in a democracy. The Commission is saying that I am not a native of Bihar, but I have been living in Kaimur for the last 20 years.”
BJP has fielded Sangita Kumari, the sitting MLA from Mohania who was earlier in RJD.
Published – October 22, 2025 12:46 pm IST
