Bihar polls: Tejashwi Yadav pledges jobs for women volunteers, contractual staff
Tejashwi Yadav accused the ruling NDA of exploiting Jeevika Didis, the rural women volunteers under the Bihar Rural Livelihoods Promotion Society (Jeevika)
Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav on Wednesday promised permanent government jobs to community mobilisers under Bihar’s flagship Jeevika self-help groups and regularisation of services of over 150,000 contractual employees.
He called the pledge historic and accused the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) of exploiting Jeevika Didis, the rural women volunteers under the Bihar Rural Livelihoods Promotion Society (Jeevika), and contractual workers. Yadav said it denied them dignity and stability despite their pivotal role in implementing village-level social welfare schemes.
“We will approve an ordinance within 20 days of being sworn in and make this a reality in the next 20 months,” said Yadav days before the Bihar assembly elections on November 6 and 11.
He said the RJD-led alliance is committed to youth and women employment in a state facing high unemployment rate, estimated at over 7%. Yadav addressed concerns over fiscal feasibility and pointed to the regularisation of over 450,000 “Niyojit Shikshak” (contractual teachers) when he was the deputy chief minister (2015-2017). He said BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi has dismissed the regularisation as “unrealistic”.
He referred to interactions with Jeevika volunteers across Bihar and lamented the NDA’s alleged indifference. “These Didis have been demanding permanent jobs for years...the government turned a deaf ear, even as they execute every major rural welfare initiative—from sanitation drives to nutrition programmes.”
Yadav promised Jeevika community mobilisers would get a monthly salary of ₹30,000, interest waivers on existing loans, two years of interest-free credit, an additional ₹2,000 monthly incentive for inter-departmental work, and ₹5 lakh life insurance coverage. He added that other key Jeevika functionaries, such as bookkeepers and cluster coordinators, would get “significant increase” in their honorariums.
Jeevika was launched in 2007 to empower rural women through self-help groups. It has mobilised over 14 million women across the state, focusing on financial inclusion, skill development, and community-driven development.
Yadav made a similar promise for contractual workers hired through government and private agencies for roles ranging from secretariat support to district-level administration. “Currently, the state pays 18% GST on these outsourcing deals, but workers get barely half the allocated salary. The rest vanishes into agency commissions and taxes,” said Yadav.
He accused some officials and ministers of perpetuating the ad-hoc system for personal gain. Yadav insisted that existing budgetary provisions could fund the transition.
The RJD-led alliance has promised financial aid of ₹1,000 monthly to school-going girls and pregnant/lactating mothers, for gender empowerment in Bihar, where female workforce participation is around 20%. Yadav’s job-centric narrative seeks to counter NDA’s development-focused campaign.
Bihar deputy chief minister and BJP leader Samrat Chaudhary called Yadav’s announcements “desperate electoral sops” designed to mask the internal discord. Chaudhary said that the NDA had delivered concrete benefits to Jeevika Didis, including doubling their monthly honorarium and slashing bank loan interest rates by 3% for self-help groups this year. He called these measures “real empowerment, not hollow rhetoric.”
“Twenty days for an ordinance and 20 months for jobs? Bihar’s women deserve action now, not promises from a leader whose alliance cannot even share seats.”
Yadav did not respond to queries about friction within the RJD-led alliance, saying he would address the media on Thursday. People aware of the matter said the Congress has deputed former Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot to talk with Yadav as the party seeks to present a united front against the NDA. Congress candidates are contesting against RJD and Left parties in nine constituencies.
