From ‘Sushasan’ To Sops: Nitish Kumar’s Last-Ditch Freebie Gamble In Caste-Hardened Bihar

Last Updated:July 18, 2025, 08:07 IST

Nitish Kumar, who built his brand on women’s empowerment, governance, and managing caste dynamics, now finds himself in the same loop of distributing doles before elections

Bihar CM Nitish Kumar (PTI Image)

In one of India’s most impoverished states — Bihar — where caste loyalties have traditionally dictated electoral-political outcomes, a desperate question now looms large: can freebies override caste identity?

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, once known as the poster boy of governance-driven and anti-crime-centric politics, is now betting on doles — free electricity, cash handouts, and sops for youth in the form of one crore government jobs — to stay relevant in the twilight of his long and chequered political career.

Just a month ago, a senior minister and Janata Dal (United) leader, responding to a News18 question, stated that Nitish Kumar would never need to announce freebies like others and that the NDA alliance would race ahead in the state election riding on the ‘wave of developmental projects’ and for bringing an ‘end to the jungle raj’.

Slipping ‘Strike Rate’

However, the picture changed rapidly. Around five months ahead of the election, Nitish Kumar announced free electricity, financial assistance and other freebies. So, what changed?

A senior BJP leader, involved in the party’s election committee in Bihar, however, painted a different picture. Multiple surveys and analyses of caste equations in Bihar convinced the alliance that the JD(U)’s ‘strike rate’ may take a hit due to anti-incumbency, caste factors, Muslim votes, and some policy decisions. “Freebies have now been the flavour of the season. But this is not a manifesto announcement. These are part of a government’s policy decision," said the BJP leader.

But will this last-minute push change the script in a state where his JD(U) seems to be floundering, and the ground is shifting faster than he can recalibrate?

Nitish Kumar’s political journey has been a curious mix of pragmatism, sharp calibration, persistence, and periodic reinvention. But as Bihar heads into a crucial electoral phase, what stands out is not his once-acclaimed sushasan (good governance) model, but a belated embrace of populist tactics that mirror the very politics he long derided. Nitish Kumar, an old-school socialist politician who built his brand on women’s empowerment, governance, crime control, and managing caste dynamics, now finds himself in the same loop of distributing doles before elections.

Over the past few days, the JD(U) has unveiled a flurry of announcements — from 100 units of free electricity to direct benefits for women and students, and doubling the social security pension. The CM’s speeches increasingly echo welfare buzzwords, with an unmistakable urgency to win back trust among youth, women, and backward castes.

For a party that appears adrift, the desperation is showing. JD(U) cadres are now restless, many leaders have switched allegiances, and the party’s messaging lacks coherence in some areas, said a source in the BJP. Nitish’s own credibility has taken a hit after repeated political somersaults — from siding with the BJP, then realigning with the RJD-Congress alliance, and then again walking back to the NDA camp. This trust deficit is perhaps the biggest hurdle before him, not freebies.

Twist In The Plot: Crime Creeps Back

Meanwhile, crime has suddenly crept back into Bihar’s political lexicon. Once hailed for cracking down on criminals and streamlining policing, Nitish now faces growing criticism over a visible surge in lawlessness — extortion, daylight shootings, and gang violence. The incidents of crime took place one after another.

While Opposition leaders have been quick to link this uptick in crime to the weakening grip of the administration and the CM’s political distractions, his own alliance partner, Chirag Paswan of the LJP, also did not mince words. In a sharp reaction to the series of crime incidents — including the attacks and the murder — Paswan issued a statement demanding immediate action.

Caste Cauldron

The caste equations remain the elephant in the room. While Nitish has tried to stitch together a new coalition of non-Yadav OBCs, women, and Mahadalits with targeted benefits, the strength of caste networks and local satraps still holds sway in rural Bihar.

In this volatile mix, freebies may have seemed like a way out — to neutralise entrenched loyalties or frustrations over governance backsliding.

Nitish Kumar’s latest gamble is a stark contrast to the reformist who once rose above the politics of patronage. But in 2025, as fatigue sets in, Bihar looks for clarity.

News politics From ‘Sushasan’ To Sops: Nitish Kumar’s Last-Ditch Freebie Gamble In Caste-Hardened Bihar