Nitish Kumar cites ‘pre-2005 neglect’ as Bihar gears up for Phase-2 polling.
Photo Credit: The Suncity News
Patna, November 7, 2025: Ahead of the polling of phase 2, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has stepped up his campaign messaging by repeatedly contrasting “pre-2005 Bihar” with the development achieved during his tenure.
In a detailed post on X, Nitish Kumar said that when he took charge in 2005, disaster preparedness in the state was almost non-existent.
Nitish Kumar highlighted the poor approach before 2005 to deal with natural calamities:
He alleged that before 2005, there was no systematic approach to dealing with floods, droughts, fires or earthquakes.
He also accused the then government of irregularities in relief distribution, claiming that crores were embezzled and flood victims had to wait months to receive limited help.
Nitish Kumar noted that after assuming office in November 2005, his government created a separate Disaster Management Department to unify all disaster-related functions, formulated a state-level Disaster SOP in 2010, and operationalised standard relief protocols.
He said timely delivery of relief materials, direct DBT transfers and community kitchens were institutionalized to ensure immediate support for affected families. He recalled that flood-affected families were provided one quintal of grain—earning him the nickname “Quintal Baba”—and that ex gratia assistance for such families has now increased to Rs 7,000 and is transferred directly into bank accounts.
Nitish Kumar added that relief camps today include food, medical teams, and nutritional support for children, sanitary materials for women and Anganwadi facilities.
Nitish Kumar urged people to remember the situation before 2005:
He appealed to voters to “remember where Bihar stood before 2005” and to evaluate the changes brought in over the past two decades.
Nitish Kumar added that a drought management policy was drafted in 2011, with key initiatives coordinated through the Agriculture and Water Resources departments.
Nitish Kumar highlighted the launch of the Jal-Jeevan-Hariyali-Abhiyan in 2019, describing it as a campaign focused on rainwater harvesting, pond rejuvenation, tree plantation and raising groundwater levels.
He said mini lift-irrigation schemes and solar pump sets were being expanded in drought-prone districts to ensure farm-level irrigation and raise farm incomes.
The Chief Minister further claimed that both flood control and irrigation capacity had significantly improved. By March 2025, he said, 370 km of new embankments would have been built covering around 1.4 million hectares of flood-affected land, while 600 km of existing embankments had been raised and strengthened. Incidents of embankment breaches, he claimed, had reduced.
“Please remember the work done to protect the people of Bihar from every kind of disaster,” he wrote.
“We will continue working in the same way and find a permanent solution to flooding. We deliver on our promises. Jai Bihar.”
The Second phase of polling is scheduled for Monday.
EOM.
