It is raining bounty in poll-bound Bihari
Pre-Election Surge: Bihar Gets 7 Major Announcements
Sops Rain on Bihar as Elections Loom
New Delhi: As Bihar’s Assembly elections draw near, potentially set for October or November, the Union Cabinet approved two significant infrastructure projects totalling Rupees 7,616.38 crore today, adding to a flurry of central government announcements aimed at the state.
Chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs sanctioned the construction of an 82.4-kilometre, four-lane, greenfield access-controlled Mokama-Munger section of the Buxar-Bhagalpur High-Speed Corridor in Bihar, under the Hybrid Annuity Mode at 4,447.38 crore Indian Rupees, and the doubling of the 177-kilometer Bhagalpur-Dumka-Rampurhat single railway line across Bihar, Jharkhand, and West Bengal, at 3,169 crore Indian Rupees. These decisions focus on connectivity improvements, industrial expansion, and sustainability, amid questions about their electoral implications.
The Mokama-Munger corridor serves eastern Bihar’s growing industrial zone, connecting areas like Mokama, Barahiya, Lakhisarai, Jamalpur, Munger, and Bhagalpur. It bolsters the Munger-Jamalpur-Bhagalpur belt’s ordnance factories, including an existing gun factory and a proposed addition under the Ministry of Defence’s Ordnance Factory Corridor, as well as Jamalpur’s locomotive workshop, ITC Limited-led food processing in Munger, and Bhagalpur’s textile sector featuring Bhagalpuri silk. Barahiya’s emphasis on food packaging and agro-warehousing adds to the logistics potential. With a design speed of 100 kilometres per hour (km/h), average vehicular speeds of 80 kilometres per hour, and closed tolling, the corridor is projected to reduce travel time to 1.5 hours, facilitating freight and passenger traffic while creating 14.83 lakh man-days of direct employment and 18.46 lakh man-days of indirect jobs.
The railway doubling covers five districts, including Bihar’s Bhagalpur and Banka, Jharkhand’s Dumka and Godda, and West Bengal’s Rampurhat, targeting congestion on a key freight corridor for coal, cement, fertilisers, bricks, and stones. It anticipates handling an extra 15 million tonnes per annum (MTPA), linking 441 villages and 28.72 lakh residents, including three aspirational districts identified under the Government of India’s Aspirational Districts Programme. The line also accesses pilgrimage sites such as Deoghar’s Baba Baidyanath Dham and Tarapith’s Shakti Peeth. Integrated with the Prime Minister Gati Shakti National Master Plan, it forecasts cuts in oil imports by 5 crore litres and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by 24 crore kilograms—equivalent to planting 1 crore trees—addressing Bihar’s longstanding infrastructure challenges.
These approvals build on a series of seven verified Bihar-focused central announcements in August-September 2025, outstripping similar activity elsewhere and highlighting the state’s electoral significance. Below is a detailed list of these announcements, reflecting their scope and timing:
- August 22, 2025: Prime Minister’s Visit and Project Inaugurations – During his sixth visit to Bihar in 2025, Prime Minister Modi inaugurated and laid foundation stones for development projects worth over 13,000 crore Indian Rupees in Gaya, including the Aunta-Simaria six-lane Ganga bridge (1,870 crore Indian Rupees), Buxar Thermal Power Plant (660 megawatts, 6,880 crore Indian Rupees), Homi Bhabha Cancer Hospital in Muzaffarpur, and urban infrastructure like water supply projects under Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) 2.0. He also flagged off two trains: Amrit Bharat Express (Gaya-Delhi) and Buddhist Circuit Train (Vaishali-Koderma).
- August 26, 2025: Bihar Industrial Investment Promotion Package 2025 – The Bihar state cabinet, with central alignment, approved this package under the 2016 policy, offering free land (up to 25 acres for investments exceeding 1,000 crore Indian Rupees) and interest subvention up to 40 crore Indian Rupees to attract industries, targeting 1 crore jobs in five years.
- June 25, 2025 (Reaffirmed in August-September Media) – Announcement of Bihar’s first nuclear power plant using Small Modular Reactor (SMR) technology under the 20,000 crore Indian Rupees National Nuclear Energy Mission (Union Budget 2025-26). Union Power Minister Manohar Lal Khattar confirmed central support during the Eastern Region Power Ministers’ meeting in Patna, with Bihar among six initial states.
- June 24, 2025 (Ongoing through August-September 2025): Special Intensive Revision of Electoral Rolls – The Election Commission of India’s comprehensive voter roll update for Bihar, with a qualifying date of July 1, 2025. By August 24, 98.2% document submission was achieved; deadlines were extended to September 1-8. The Supreme Court on September 8 mandated Aadhaar as the 12th valid identification document.
- September 10, 2025: Cabinet Approval for Mokama-Munger Highway – 4,447.38 crore Indian Rupees for an 82.4-kilometre four-lane greenfield access-controlled section of the Buxar-Bhagalpur High-Speed Corridor under Hybrid Annuity Mode. It connects industrial hubs like Munger (ordnance, food processing) and Bhagalpur (textiles), reducing travel time to 1.5 hours and generating 33.29 lakh man-days of employment.
- September 10, 2025: Cabinet Approval for Bhagalpur-Dumka-Rampurhat Railway Doubling – 3,169 crore Indian Rupees for a 177-kilometre line across Bihar, Jharkhand, and West Bengal, enhancing freight capacity by 15 million tonnes per annum, connecting 441 villages and 28.72 lakh people, and linking pilgrimage sites like Deoghar.
- September 10, 2025: Combined Infrastructure Package Announcement – The two September 10 approvals (totalling 7,616.38 crore Indian Rupees)as a strategic pre-poll push, aligning with Prime Minister Gati Shakti for multi-modal connectivity.
By comparison, other states received fewer central announcements in the same period, often administrative or lower-value.
- Maharashtra, with possible late-2025 elections, saw three: advance salaries and pensions for Ganesh Chaturthi on August 25-26, labour law amendments on September 3 extending working hours, and a public holiday on September 8.
- Jharkhand, following the 2024 elections, had four: a 4,296.62 crore Indian Rupees supplementary budget on August 22, 2025, 51 life-term convict releases in September, Factories Act amendments on September 1, and state mourning in early August.
- Uttar Pradesh, without immediate polls, featured six, including a 40 crore Indian Rupees farm stay tourism subsidy, a farmer registration drive starting September 16, the Viksit Uttar Pradesh-2047 vision targeting a 6 trillion United States Dollar economy, an Outsource Service Corporation on September 2, the Uttar Pradesh International Trade Show from September 25-29, and old-age pension extensions to 61 lakh beneficiaries in August.
- West Bengal, ahead of the 2026 elections, recorded four, including 5,200 crore Indian Rupees projects inaugurated during Modi’s August 22 visit, a Combined Commanders’ Conference on September 15, and public holiday adjustments.
This pattern underscores Bihar’s strategic importance in the 2025 polls, where the National Democratic Alliance aims to strengthen ties with Janata Dal (United) against the Rashtriya Janata Dal-led opposition. The announcements, branded as steps toward a self-reliant Bihar, prioritise employment, infrastructure, and voter access, potentially influencing aspirational and border districts—where Modi raised infiltration concerns during his August 22 address. However, social media and critics question execution, citing delays in past projects and perceived disparities with states like Gujarat. The Special Intensive Revision process, while promoting inclusivity, has drawn exclusion allegations, with the Aadhaar inclusion addressing some concerns. With poll dates imminent, these initiatives may shape voter dynamics, but sustained implementation will determine their lasting impact in a state grappling with migration and development lags.
– global bihari bureau
