RJD's tall job promise draws crowds in Bihar

Masaudhi : Crowds flow in to listen to RJD's Tejashwi Yadav, following his seemingly tall promise of 10 lakh jobs.

RJD's chief ministerial candidate's job promise lures people out of their homes,and fill his venues ahead of Bihar polls.

The Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and Mahagathbandhan have been so far successful drawing people out to listen to Tejashwi.

When Tejashwi was in Masaudhi on Wednesday to campaign, turnout was overwhelmingly large.

It was so large at times it seemed going out of control for police. People were pushing the barricades, to jump the makeshift barriers.

Some broke the barricades after Tejashwi told police personnel to allow them to come to the stage where he was.

Rahul Sharma, a native of Masaudhi, located around 30 km from Patna, said: "Announcements like 10 lakh jobs in government sector has created huge expectations among common people of Bihar. Hence, people from all section of the society are assembling at rally venues to see him (Tejashwi) and listen to his speech."

Another resident, Ramesh Sagar, said: "There is no doubt about the anti-incumbency factor working against Chief Minister Nitish Kumar as he is unable to take care of some of the key issues like inflation, non-creation of jobs, migration, etc. Poor people have become poorest due to the flawed policies.

"On the other hand, there is a politician like Lalu Prasad known for his socialist ways and advocacy for equality. Hence, they are looking at his son Tejashwi Yadav as option," he added.

"The situation is similar to the 2014 parliamentary election where people of the country looking for the change. Let's hope Tejashwi sticks to his and it does not turn out to be a 'jumla'," Sagar said.

Another Masaudhi resident Roshan Paswan said the people of Bihar have lost faith in Nitish Kumar's leadership style.

"He had collected votes by opposing BJP but later joined hands with the same party for his vested interests. He had put the mandate aside. People of Bihar are aware of these developments... He (Nitish) is no longer a trustworthy individual for people of Bihar."

"We are looking at Tejaswi Yadav as face of change. The people of marginalised category are looking upto him as ray of hope," said Sri Krishna Sharma, who had come from Punpun, near Masaudhi.

In the Sankalp Patra of Mahagathbandhan, there are 25 points including loan waiver of farmers, non implementation of newly introduced agriculture bill, no fee for competitive examination, no travelling charges for students from district headquarters to examination centres, etc.

This report from IANS has been edited