Eyeing rural voters, Grand Alliance woos farmers, youths

PATNA: With nearly 90 per cent of Bihar population living in villages, the Grand Alliance or Mahagathbandhan sought to woo youths, farmers, and labourers through its joint poll manifesto or 'SankalpPatra' released here on Saturday.

TejashwiYadav, the chief ministerial face of the Grand Alliance, said that the manifesto promised to usher in change in Bihar.

The Mahagathbandhan sought to address the issues related to farmers and labourers, given the fact that the state has a rural-based economy with 89 per cent people living in villages and 76 per cent of them directly dependent on agriculture sector.

Hence, loan waiver for farmers was one of the key points in this manifesto. The leaders of Mahagathbandhan know that 18 to 20 districts are affected by flood every year and repayments of loans is not easy for affected farmers. Attracting the farmers through loan waiver promise could be a game changer for the Mahagathbandhan.

The manifesto also sought to address labourers' issues through guaranteed employment under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act scheme. Moreover, it also promised to create jobs as per MGNREGA scheme.

Tejashwi pointed out that the MGNREGA schemes with added benefits would be drawn to prevent labour migration from Bihar. "If a labourer gets paid extra in his own state, why will he go elsewhere?" he remarked. (IANS)

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