As Bihar approaches the 2025 Assembly elections, the political cauldron is once again simmering. Caste equations, regional loyalties, the cult of political personalities, and the endless “Tu-Tu, Mai-Mai” exchanges between the NDA-led ruling alliance and the RJD-led Mahagathbandhan dominate speeches, rallies, and media debates. Yet, beneath this shrill din of political rivalry lies a quieter but far more significant aspiration among millions of Biharis-especially migrant workers and the state’s restless youth. They are not looking for clever one-liners or recycled promises but for something more substantial: jobs, industries, and socio-economic opportunities that could reduce the compulsion to migrate for survival.
This contrast embodies Bihar’s paradox. It is a state of politically sharp and aware voters-descendants of Chanakya’s land-who understand the mechanics of power and bargaining better than most. And yet, the political discourse remains locked in the grammar of caste, slowing down the much-needed transition towards an economy-centered debate.
The 2025 elections, therefore, are not just about power-sharing; they are about whether Bihar can decisively move away from its “BIMARU” tag and place development at the center of its future.
Caste: The Old Grammar of Bihar Politics
Caste remains an inseparable part of Bihar’s electoral script. Political parties and alliances continue to frame strategies around caste arithmetic, mobilising communities through identity, representation, and the promise of empowerment. The 2023 Bihar caste survey offers a clear breakdown: Extremely Backward Classes (EBCs) constitute 36 per cent, Other Backward Classes (OBCs) 27 per cent, Scheduled Castes about 20 per cent, Scheduled Tribes 1.6 per cent, and upper castes 15.5 per cent. Muslims make up 17.7 per cent and often align within backward caste groupings.
This structure is not a recent invention-it has deep historical roots. In the 1930s, the Triveni Sangh — a coalition of Yadavs, Kurmis, and Koeris-sought to assert backward caste rights. Karpoori Thakur’s 1978 reservation policy institutionalised quotas for OBCs, giving caste-based mobilisation new legitimacy. The Mandal Commission implementation in 1990 further empowered backward classes, propelling leaders like Lalu Prasad Yadav to dominance. His Muslim-Yadav (MY) alliance controlled Bihar’s politics in the 1990s, building power through the politics of social justice rather than economic development.
Bihar is not unique in using caste as an electoral base, but its depth and persistence here make it decisive. Caste arithmetic shapes alliances, determines candidate selection, and often seals electoral outcomes even before campaigns begin.
Yet, to reduce Bihar’s electorate to caste alone is an oversimplification. Since Nitish Kumar’s rise in 2005, governance, infrastructure, and targeted welfare have begun to matter. Sub-categorisation of EBCs, schemes for women and girls, roads, schools, and law-and-order improvements have shaped voting behavior. Voters rewarded performance in 2010 and 2015, showing that while caste remains a starting point, governance cannot be ignored. This reflects Bihar’s political maturity: identity matters, but delivery matters too.
Migration: Bihar’s Unspoken Election Issue
Perhaps the starkest sign of Bihar’s economic gap is its scale of migration. Lakhs of young men leave every year for Delhi, Punjab, Maharashtra, Gujarat, and southern states to work in construction, factories, and services. The 2011 Census already flagged Bihar as one of the highest out-migration states, with over 7 per cent of its population working outside. The trend has only intensified.
For families, remittances sent home are lifelines. They sustain consumption, fund children’s education, and often build houses in villages. Yet the social cost is profound. Children grow up without fathers, women shoulder household burdens alone, and villages lose their most productive age groups.
Migration can support households, but at this scale it highlights the state’s failure to generate local opportunities. Any serious political pitch in 2025 must therefore address jobs and livelihoods. Promises that ignore employment generation will fail to resonate with the state’s youth, whose central demand is dignity of work at home.
Bihar’s Progress-and Its Limits
To be fair, Bihar is not where it was in the 1990s. The state has reported impressive GSDP growth of 8.64 per cent in recent years, often above the national average. Roads, bridges, and rural electrification have expanded dramatically. School enrolments have risen, and welfare schemes have reached deeper than ever before.
Law and order-once the state’s Achilles’ heel-has improved.
Nitish Kumar’s long tenure deserves much credit. His governments, often in partnership with central schemes, have expanded infrastructure and social delivery. These gains explain why Nitish continues to hold political relevance despite shifting alliances.
But the limits are equally stark. Economic growth has not translated into industrialisation or large-scale job creation. Agriculture continues to employ most Biharis, but landholdings are fragmented and productivity remains low. Private investment is minimal compared to states like Gujarat, Maharashtra, or Tamil Nadu. In short, Bihar’s growth has been broad but shallow-improving lives but not transforming the economic base.
The Shadow of BIMARU
Despite improvements, the old “BIMARU” tag still lingers. Bihar’s literacy rate is around 74.3 per cent, below the national average of 80.9 per cent. Female literacy, at just 51.5 per cent, remains among the lowest in India. Health indicators, though improved, continue to trail. Infant mortality, malnutrition, and inadequate healthcare infrastructure undermine human capital. These gaps matter because industries require skilled, healthy workers. Without investment in people-through education, vocational training, and healthcare-industrial growth cannot take off. For Bihar, human capital is not a side issue; it is the precondition for escaping its low-development trap.
A Legacy of Political Awareness
Bihar has always been a land of reforms and resistance. From the Champaran Satyagraha to the JP Movement, it has repeatedly produced movements that reshaped India’s politics. This legacy ensures that Bihari voters are anything but naive. They punish governments that fail to deliver and reward those that provide visible benefits.
Political Acumen to Economic Dignity
The challenge before Bihar’s next government is clear: to gradually move the state from identity-centered politics to development-centered governance. Caste no longer overshadow the urgency of jobs, industries, and skills.
To shed the BIMARU label and claim economic dignity, Bihar needs a four-pronged strategy:
n Job Creation and Industrial Growth: The state must incentivise labor-intensive industries-textiles, agro-processing, food processing, and small-scale manufacturing. Clear land-use policies, reliable electricity, and simplified regulations can attract investors. MSMEs, which employ a large workforce, should be given targeted support.
nHuman Capital Development: Schools, vocational training centers, and skill hubs linked to industry clusters must be scaled up. Special focus on women’s education can unlock massive economic potential. Universities and technical institutions should align with modern industry needs.
nInfrastructure and Governance: Expanding road, rail, and digital connectivity across districts can reduce regional imbalances. Governance reforms should make “ease of doing business” a reality, reducing red tape and corruption that deter investors.
n Balanced Regional Growth: Development must not remain concentrated in Patna and select urban centers.
The 2025 Test
The Bihar Assembly elections of 2025 are not just another battle of alliances or leadership rivalries. They are a test of whether Bihar’s politics can rise above the comfort of caste arithmetic and personality cults. The state’s youth-restless, aspirational, and mobile-want something different: jobs at home, industries that pay, and a life where migration is an option, not a
compulsion.
Nitish Kumar’s governments have laid foundations-improving law and order, roads, and welfare delivery. But the next stage requires a bigger leap, one that marries Bihar’s political acumen with economic dignity. Bihar’s soil has always produced sharp minds, from Chanakya to JP. The time has come for its leaders to channel that wisdom not just to win elections but to build a prosperous, dignified Bihar.
The writer is a seasoned political commentator and communication strategist. He is the Chairman of the Public Relations Society, Delhi (PRSD), a motivational speaker, and an advisor to the Abdul Kalam Foundation