In Bihar, 70 per cent of the population is under 35 years old, which is just about true of many parts of India. Yet, politicians and political parties do not address their concerns. Take Tejashwi Yadav of the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) for example. He promised 10 lakh jobs in the 2020 assembly elections, which seems to have struck a chord with the youth electorate. He claims that he provided five lakh government jobs during his 17-month tenure as Bihar’s deputy chief minister in the Mahagathbandhan government led by Nitish Kumar. Though one doesn’t know the authenticity of the claim, the truth is he hasn’t fully emerged out of the shadows of his father Lalu Prasad Yadav, who is cast in the traditional mould of regional parties pandering to the dominant caste and religious segments in a given state.

The upcoming Bihar assembly elections have youth leaders spearheading the campaign, which augurs well for the state. For the Congress, the firebrand Kanhaiya Kumar, and for the BJP, the relatively young Samrat Choudhary, who could well be the CM face of the party, provided he doesn’t get too carried away. The BJP top brass cuts the claimants down to size.

© News18