Nitish Kumar Rs 10,000 Scheme Fails to Win Women Voters in Bihar Elections

Key Highlights:

• Over 1.1 crore women received Rs 10,000 under Mukhyamantri Mahila Rojgar Yojana, but many say the cash handout will not influence their voting decisions in the Bihar Assembly elections
• Implementation challenges leave thousands of regular Jeevika members without payments, creating anger among excluded women voters across Bihar’s 243 constituencies
• Unlike monthly cash schemes in Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra, the Nitish Kumar Rs 10,000 scheme offers one-time assistance, reducing its electoral impact ahead of Phase 2 polling on November 11, 2025

Opening Overview: Electoral Gamble Backfires

The Nitish Kumar Rs 10,000 scheme, officially launched as Mukhyamantri Mahila Rojgar Yojana on August 29, 2025, was designed as a pre-election masterstroke to secure women’s support in Bihar Assembly elections. However, ground-level interviews across multiple districts reveal that this cash handout is failing to sway voting preferences, with beneficiaries explicitly stating the money cannot buy their loyalty. The scheme aimed to provide seed capital to one woman per family for entrepreneurship, leveraging Bihar’s extensive Jeevika self-help group network of over 912,124 SHGs operating across 534 blocks.

As Phase 1 polling concluded on November 6 with 64.66% voter turnout and Phase 2 approaches on November 11, the Nitish Kumar Rs 10,000 scheme faces mounting criticism from both recipients and those excluded from the last-minute policy.​With Bihar’s final electoral roll showing 7.4 crore voters, including approximately 3.7 crore women, the scheme’s limited reach to just 1.1 crore beneficiaries covers barely 30% of the female electorate. This selective implementation through existing Jeevika networks has created two distinct voter groups: those who received the money but remain politically uncommitted, and those left out who harbor resentment against the government.

The timing of the Nitish Kumar Rs 10,000 scheme, rolled out merely weeks before elections, has drawn comparisons with successful women-centric cash transfer programs in Madhya Pradesh’s Ladli Behna Yojana and Maharashtra’s Ladki Bahin Yojana, both credited with helping ruling parties return to power. However, Bihar’s one-time assistance model fundamentally differs from the monthly payment structures that demonstrated electoral effectiveness in other states.​

Implementation Crisis and Voter Exclusion

Jeevika Network Struggles Under Pressure

The Bihar government’s decision to implement the Nitish Kumar Rs 10,000 scheme through Jeevika created unprecedented operational stress on self-help group coordinators. Baby Singh, a bookkeeper managing 120 Jeevika groups in Sitamarhi’s Bhitha Bazar village, described the last two months as “very stressful,” with constant inquiries from members demanding explanations about payment delays. The rushed implementation timeline compressed a massive financial transfer operation into just over two months, with Chief Minister Nitish Kumar personally transferring Rs 2,100 crore to 21 lakh beneficiaries in the third tranche on October 6, 2025.​

Despite official claims that 1.1 crore beneficiaries received payments under the Nitish Kumar Rs 10,000 scheme, ground realities paint a different picture. Regular Jeevika members with years of association report being excluded from the scheme, creating confusion and anger in rural constituencies. Ram Pari from Bindhi village in Sitamarhi, a two-year Jeevika member, expressed frustration: “Everybody got the money, except me. In my group, they say those who have not got it yet will not get it in the future”. This exclusion pattern emerged across multiple districts, with veteran Jeevika didis finding themselves sidelined while others benefited from the Nitish Kumar Rs 10,000 scheme.​

The implementation challenges extend beyond mere logistical difficulties to fundamental questions about targeting mechanisms. Manju Devi from Vaishali’s Bedaulia village, despite her decade-long Jeevika membership, remained excluded and alleged that “forms of the poor are not being accepted but the well off are benefiting”. Such complaints about selective implementation have been amplified by Opposition candidates, who claim the Nitish Kumar Rs 10,000 scheme deliberately filters out women from Yadav and Dalit communities, though JD(U) spokesperson Neeraj Kumar vehemently dismissed these allegations.​

Misinformation and Electoral Confusion

The rapid rollout of the Nitish Kumar Rs 10,000 scheme created significant confusion on the ground, with misinformation spreading about the nature of the financial assistance. Opposition candidates visiting villages told beneficiaries that the money was actually a loan requiring eventual repayment, adding to voter anxiety. While this claim is factually incorrect, the scheme’s design does promise additional support of up to Rs 2 lakh for women who establish viable businesses, a detail most voters either don’t understand or don’t consider realistic.​

The fundamental difference between the Nitish Kumar Rs 10,000 scheme and successful women’s cash transfer programs in other states has been lost on many voters. Unlike Madhya Pradesh’s Ladli Behna Yojana, which provides monthly payments of Rs 1,250, or Maharashtra’s Ladki Bahin Yojana offering Rs 1,500 monthly, Bihar’s scheme offers only one-time assistance. This structural difference significantly reduces the scheme’s political impact, as the immediate benefit feels limited compared to ongoing monthly support. The Opposition’s promise of Rs 2,500 monthly under the proposed Mai Behan Maan Yojana creates a stark contrast that many women voters recognize.​

Beneficiary Responses: Money Without Loyalty

Limited Economic Impact Reduces Political Leverage

Women who received payments under the Nitish Kumar Rs 10,000 scheme consistently expressed that the amount is insufficient to start meaningful businesses, the stated objective of Mukhyamantri Mahila Rojgar Yojana. Tabassum Khatun from Sitamarhi initially told a Jeevika coordinator she would vote for Nitish Kumar due to the money, but later clarified her actual position: “10,000 rupees cannot buy my vote. I don’t want this money. I need work”. This dual response pattern—public conformity followed by private dissent—emerged repeatedly across beneficiary interviews, suggesting social pressure rather than genuine political conversion.​

The practical utility of Rs 10,000 for entrepreneurship remains questionable in Bihar’s economic context. Urmila Devi from Bedaulia village dismissed the amount casually: “I will buy a goat or two. What else can one do with 10,000 rupees?”. When asked if the Nitish Kumar Rs 10,000 scheme influenced her voting preference, she responded sharply that her loyalty remains with Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Lalu Prasad Yadav and his son Tejashwi Yadav. Neeru Devi from Kalyan Bigha, who purchased three goats with her payment, explicitly stated: “Even if I had not got the money, I would have voted for him”.​

These responses indicate that the Nitish Kumar Rs 10,000 scheme is failing to convert Opposition voters or create new political constituencies. Babita Devi from Kalyan Bigha, Kumar’s ancestral village, supported this assessment: “It’s not as if he has given me 10,000 rupees so I will vote for him. I have been his voter for many years because he is working for the development of villages”. This suggests the scheme merely reinforces existing loyalties rather than expanding the electoral base, contrary to JD(U)’s expectations that the Nitish Kumar Rs 10,000 scheme would attract new women voters from Bihar’s poorest sections.​

Caste-Based Exclusion Allegations

Opposition parties have seized upon implementation irregularities to allege systematic discrimination in the Nitish Kumar Rs 10,000 scheme distribution. Rampravesh Yadav, a farmer from Nalanda’s Kalyan Bigha village, claimed: “Yadav women are being filtered out. This government looks at people’s caste before doing anything”. Such allegations gained traction in constituencies with significant Yadav populations, where the Rashtriya Janata Dal maintains traditional support bases. Priyanka Bharti, RJD national spokesperson, argued that the scheme would “backfire” because “women in Yadav and Dalit bastis tell me they have been deliberately excluded”.​

While the Nitish Kumar Rs 10,000 scheme was designed to reach women through existing Jeevika networks without explicit caste criteria, the ground-level implementation through local coordinators created opportunities for bias, whether intentional or structural. The scheme’s reliance on regular Jeevika membership effectively excluded women who either joined recently or participated irregularly, creating patterns that Opposition parties interpret as deliberate discrimination. Bihar’s 7.4 crore voter base includes significant Scheduled Caste (17.1%) and Other Backward Classes populations where Yadavs form a substantial component, making any perception of exclusion politically consequential.​

Political Calculations and Historical Context

Nitish Kumar’s Women Constituency Strategy

Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has systematically cultivated women voters throughout his two-decade political career, making the apparent failure of the Nitish Kumar Rs 10,000 scheme to generate new electoral dividends particularly significant. Ashish Ranjan, a researcher from Data Action Lab for Emerging Societies, characterized Kumar as “the first Indian politician to have systematically created his own woman constituency”. This strategy began with 50% reservation for women in panchayats in 2006, followed by the bicycle distribution scheme for school girls, cash incentives for completing education, and job reservations in government positions.​

The Jeevika platform itself represents a cornerstone of this strategy, with over 912,124 self-help groups mobilizing more than 1.2 crore women across Bihar’s rural landscape. Bihar achieved the milestone of becoming India’s first state with 10 lakh SHGs in 2020, with these groups demonstrating remarkable financial discipline and repayment records compared to traditional borrowers. The Nitish Kumar Rs 10,000 scheme attempted to leverage this established infrastructure for immediate electoral gains, but the rushed implementation created operational challenges that undermined its political objectives.​

Historical voting patterns show women consistently supporting Nitish Kumar at higher rates than men, with 59.69% women voter turnout compared to 54% male turnout in 2020 Assembly elections. However, the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies post-poll survey revealed that women’s voting preferences were nearly evenly split between NDA (38%) and Mahagathbandhan (37%), with the contest decided by just 11,150 votes. This narrow margin explains why both alliances prioritized women-centric schemes in 2025, with the Opposition promising Rs 2,500 monthly payments under Mai Behan Maan Yojana to counter the Nitish Kumar Rs 10,000 scheme.​

Damage Control or Game Changer?

Political analysts remain divided on whether the Nitish Kumar Rs 10,000 scheme represents effective electoral strategy or desperate damage control. Dipankar Bhattacharya, CPI(ML) Liberation general secretary, argued that the scheme was “brought in by the state government to tackle discontent among women voters over issues like unemployment and inflation”. He noted that “even Jeevika didis were going on strikes” before the scheme’s announcement, suggesting pre-existing anger that the cash transfer aimed to pacify rather than convert into positive support.​

JD(U) spokesperson Neeraj Kumar defended the Nitish Kumar Rs 10,000 scheme as strategic expansion rather than defensive maneuvering. He contended that Kumar’s earlier women’s empowerment measures primarily benefited the lower middle class, while the new scheme combined with 125 units of free electricity since August would help the party “find new women voters among the state’s poorest sections”. This argument positions the scheme as complementary to Kumar’s established women’s constituency rather than a replacement for it.​

However, ground-level responses suggest limited success in creating new political constituencies through the Nitish Kumar Rs 10,000 scheme. Ashish Ranjan assessed that while Kumar “has always had the edge among women,” the new scheme “has reduced the anti-incumbency against him to some extent. Without it, he would have been under greater threat because the Mahagathbandhan is offering women 2,500 rupees every month”. This analysis frames the scheme as partially successful damage control rather than a transformative electoral weapon, with its primary achievement being preventing further erosion of women’s support rather than expanding it.​

Electoral Arithmetic and Future Implications

Phase 2 Outlook and Vote Calculations

As Bihar heads into Phase 2 polling on November 11, 2025, covering 122 constituencies, the limited impact of the Nitish Kumar Rs 10,000 scheme on voter preferences becomes increasingly consequential. Phase 1 concluded on November 6 with 64.66% provisional turnout across 121 seats, with women voting in large numbers according to Chief Electoral Officer Gunjiyal, who reported 1.76 crore female voters among the 3.75 crore total Phase 1 electorate. The counting scheduled for November 14 will reveal whether the scheme influenced actual voting behavior beyond the mixed signals from pre-poll interviews.​

The deletion of 38 lakh voters from Bihar’s electoral rolls between January and October 2025 disproportionately affected women, with 22.7 lakh female voters removed compared to 15.5 lakh males. This 6.1% decline in women voters, sharper than the 3.8% male decline, occurred precisely during the period when the Nitish Kumar Rs 10,000 scheme was being implemented. Districts with highest deletions—Gopalganj (1.5 lakh women voters), Madhubani (1.3 lakh), and Purvi Champaran (1.1 lakh)—hold 59 assembly seats collectively, where the scheme’s impact may prove decisive given the 2020 election’s narrow 11,150-vote margin.​

The Nitish Kumar Rs 10,000 scheme’s coverage of 1.1 crore women represents approximately 30% of Bihar’s female electorate, leaving 2.6 crore women voters untouched by the direct cash transfer. This partial coverage contrasts sharply with the universal approach of successful women’s schemes in Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra, where all eligible women received monthly payments regardless of self-help group membership. The Opposition’s promise of Rs 2,500 monthly to all women under Mai Behan Maan Yojana offers broader coverage and sustained benefits compared to the Nitish Kumar Rs 10,000 scheme’s one-time payment to selected beneficiaries.​

Lessons for Women-Centric Electoral Strategies

The mixed reception of the Nitish Kumar Rs 10,000 scheme provides valuable insights into the effectiveness of women-centric cash transfer programs as electoral tools. While such schemes demonstrably influenced outcomes in Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Jharkhand (where Hemant Soren’s Maiya Samman scheme contributed to his return to power), Bihar’s experience suggests that design and implementation quality matter as much as monetary commitment. The fundamental distinctions between one-time versus monthly payments, universal versus selective coverage, and advance implementation versus last-minute rollouts appear to significantly impact political effectiveness.​

The Nitish Kumar Rs 10,000 scheme’s reliance on existing Jeevika infrastructure, while administratively convenient, created inherent limitations. The network of 912,124 SHGs with 1.2 crore members represented Bihar’s most organized women, many already politically engaged and committed to specific parties. Targeting this group rather than universal coverage meant the scheme largely reached women with established political preferences, reducing its potential for voter conversion. Additionally, the entrepreneurship framing requiring business plans for additional Rs 2 lakh support added complexity that diluted the simple appeal of direct cash transfers.​

The timing question remains critical for assessing the Nitish Kumar Rs 10,000 scheme’s electoral strategy. Launch on August 29, 2025, provided just over two months before Phase 1 polling on November 6, compared to Madhya Pradesh’s Ladli Behna Yojana, which operated for months before elections, allowing benefits to reach voters and positive associations to solidify. This compressed timeline, while avoiding model code of conduct restrictions, potentially undermined the scheme’s capacity to shift voter sentiment, particularly when implementation challenges left thousands of regular Jeevika members excluded and resentful as elections approached.​

Closing Assessment: Electoral Impact Remains Uncertain

The Nitish Kumar Rs 10,000 scheme represents an ambitious attempt to replicate the electoral success of women’s cash transfer programs in other states, but ground-level realities suggest significant limitations in its political effectiveness. Over 1.1 crore beneficiaries received payments totaling thousands of crores from state coffers, yet interviews across multiple districts reveal that recipients overwhelmingly delink the financial benefit from their voting decisions. The one-time Rs 10,000 payment, insufficient for meaningful entrepreneurship and covering only 30% of Bihar’s women voters, contrasts unfavorably with the monthly payment schemes that helped incumbent governments retain power in Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra.​

Implementation challenges created two problematic voter categories for the ruling NDA: excluded Jeevika members harboring resentment over perceived discrimination, and beneficiaries who accepted the money without political conversion. The Nitish Kumar Rs 10,000 scheme’s rushed timeline compressed a massive transfer operation into weeks, creating confusion, misinformation, and allegations of caste-based filtering that opposition parties have effectively weaponized. Whether this represents partially successful damage control against rising anti-incumbency or a failed electoral gambit will only become clear when counting concludes on November 14, determining if Bihar follows the women-driven electoral patterns of other states or charts a different political course.

The scheme’s fundamental challenge lies in attempting to purchase political loyalty in a single transaction rather than building sustained relationships through ongoing support. Women voters in Bihar demonstrated political sophistication by distinguishing between temporary cash benefits and their long-term political preferences, with many explicitly stating the Nitish Kumar Rs 10,000 scheme cannot influence their votes. This response suggests that while women-centric welfare schemes remain politically relevant, their effectiveness depends critically on design comprehensiveness, implementation quality, and integration into broader governance narratives rather than last-minute electoral engineering.