CM Nitish Kumar pens open letter ahead of Bihar polls, lists achievements since 2005

Penning an open letter ahead of the Assembly polls on Wednesday, Bihar CM Nitish Kumar thanked the people for giving him the opportunity to serve the state since 2005. He mentioned that his Chief Ministership had seen brotherhood, elimination of the atmosphere of fear and the development of all sectors. According to him, numerous welfare schemes were initiated to bring women, Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, OBCs and minorities into the mainstream. Taking a dig at his opponents, he affirmed that the state government believed in working on the ground than spending time in the election campaign. 

Observing that it has now become a matter of pride to be identified as a Bihari, Kumar promised to take the state to new heights of development with the blessings of people in the upcoming Assembly polls. He revealed that the focus of his government would be on creating a capable and self-sufficient Bihar. The Bihar CM added that the second phase of the Mukhyamantri Saat Nishchay Yojana will be implemented if the NDA is re-elected. 

Read: Bihar Polls: 22 Women Feature In JD(U)'s Candidate List; Chandrika Rai Gets Ticket

Here is the list of achievements mentioned in the open letter: 

• Students were given cycles, uniforms and scholarships
• Enhanced treatment facilities in hospitals
• Thousands of roads and bridges were built enabling people living in far-flung areas to reach Patna in 6 hours
• Electricity has reached every house
• Toilets are being constructed in every house
• 83% of the houses have access to portable drinking water
• Apart from 50% reservation in Panchayati Raj institutions, 35% of posts are reserved for women in government jobs
• Rs.10,000 crore has been spent for giving relief to the people and enhancing testing and treatment facilities for COVID-19
• Imposition of prohibition
• The social campaign against dowry and child marriage

Read: Bihar Assembly Polls: Congress Releases First List Of 21 Candidates

Bihar Assembly polls

The Bihar Assembly has a strength of 243 members out of which 38 seats are reserved for SC and two for ST. In the 2015 state polls, the Mahagatbandhan comprising RJD, JD(U) and Congress won a whopping majority with 178 seats under the leadership of Nitish Kumar. On the other hand, the BJP-led alliance won from only 58 constituencies. On July 26, 2017, Nitish Kumar stepped down as the CM citing irreconcilable differences with RJD over corruption allegations against Tejashwi Yadav and joined hands with its former ally BJP.

The upcoming Assembly election will be held in 3 phases- October 28, November 3 and November 7. To decongest polling stations, the voting time has been increased by one hour. Thus, people will be able to cast their votes from 7 am to 6 pm barring the areas affected by Left-wing extremism. The counting of votes will take place on November 10.

Read: COVID Effect: To Prevent Large Crowds, EC Reduces No Of Star Campaigners For Bihar Polls, Bypolls