Unemployment, longstanding civic mess major poll issues for Bihar's Jehanabad

Twenty-five-year-old Vikas Kumar, a science graduate from a local college, drives an autorickshaw for a living. But he hopes the next Bihar government in place following the current elections will change his fortune.

''We have been hearing the welfare rhetoric from various parties during the past elections. This time, we want action, we want to see change, a new beginning,'' he said.

As Kumar airs his grievances at the Jehanabad Bus Stand, his fellow autorickshaw drivers gather around him to express their expectations for the 2025 Assembly elections.

For educated people like Kumar, unemployment is a big issue in this election. He favours a government that will prioritise job creation, thereby curbing migration to other states in search of jobs.

''I bought this autorickshaw on a Rs 3.5 lakh loan, but I earn a pittance. There are many graduates like me in Jehanabad town who are jobless and forced to drive an autorickshaw or do something else,'' he told PTI.

Sameer Kumar, 20, who assists his father in running his garage, which opened a few years ago, has completed his high school education. He intends to follow in his father's footsteps.

''Even after getting an education, many are jobless or migrating to other places. We belong to the Vishwakarma community, and I have a lot of dreams. But the pace of life in Jehanabad is very slow,'' he said.

Jehanabad district has three assembly seats -- Jehanabad, Ghosi and Makhdumpur -- all of which will go to the polls on November 11.

While the NDA has fielded Chadeshwar Prasad, a former Jehanabad MP, on a JD(U) ticket, the INDIA alliance has pitted Rahul Kumar on an RJD ticket. The Prashant Kishore-led Jan Suraaj party has also fielded a candidate.

However, according to locals, it is largely a two-way contest between the NDA and the INDIA bloc for the Jehanabad seat. The development work done by the Nitish Kumar government in the district in the past few years is likely to weigh on the minds of voters in all three constituencies.

In the Ghosi seat, Rambali Singh Yadav of CPI(ML), is facing off against Rituraj Kumar of JD(U).

Gaya native Tarique Anwar (33), currently campaigning for Rambali Singh Yadav, feels that besides the conventional caste arithmetic, there is an ''inherent desire among people to change the 20-year-rule''.

However, JD(U) and BJP supporters in Jehanabad argue that people are happy with the development and welfare schemes brought in by the Nitish Kumar regime and the Narendra Modi-led Central government.

Bihar's Mukhyamantri Mahila Rojgar Yojana, launched late September, seems to have polarised Jehanabad's women voters, a key electorate of Nitish Kumar, with some hailing the move. Many others allege that it is a ''poll ploy to lure voters''.

Prime Minister Modi had launched the scheme via video conferencing and had claimed that it marked a truly significant milestone for the women and daughters of Bihar.

Noori, a domestic help and a resident of Pali village in Ghosi seat, said she has ''received Rs 10,000 under the scheme''. Asked what she plans to do with it, she quipped, ''I bought a pair of goats; what else can I do with that sum of money?'' Elections to 121 seats of the 243-member Assembly were held on November 6. The remaining 122 constituencies will go to the polls on November 11, and the counting of votes will be held on November 14.

In Jehanabad town, civic issues like waterlogging at a very old road underpass beneath the Patna-Gaya rail line are a matter of concern, and locals want the next government to fix this problem once and for all.

''In every rainy season, the rail underpass gets waterlogged and vehicles have also been nearly submerged in it on many occasions,'' autorickshaw driver Kumar said.

Jehanabad, earlier part of Gaya district, was carved out as a separate district a few decades ago. The region had seen caste-linked violence in the 1990s.

Sanjay Singh, a resident of Jehanabad town, said, ''I remember that period of violence. Situation has improved, definitely. But, I feel no government should stay in power for long; rotating governments is better for democracy''.