Nitish Kumar's Move Out Of Arvind Kejriwal's Playbook Ahead Of Bihar Polls

Ahead of Bihar elections, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Thursday announced that eligible domestic consumers across the state will receive up to 125 units of electricity free of cost starting August 1, a move set to benefit around 1.67 crore families.

Mr Kumar said that the government has also decided to install solar power plants on the rooftops or in the nearby public places of domestic consumers in the next three years.

"We have been providing electricity to everyone at affordable rates from the very beginning. Now we have decided that from August 1, 2025, that is, from the July bill itself, all domestic consumers in the state will not have to pay any money for electricity up to 125 units. This will benefit a total of 1 crore 67 lakh families in the state," the Bihar CM said on X.

"We have also decided that in the next three years, with the consent of all these domestic consumers, solar power plants will be installed on their rooftops or at nearby public places to provide benefits," he added.

हमलोग शुरू से ही सस्ती दरों पर सभी को बिजली उपलब्ध करा रहे हैं। अब हमने तय कर दिया है कि 1 अगस्त, 2025 से यानी जुलाई माह के बिल से ही राज्य के सभी घरेलू उपभोक्ताओं को 125 यूनिट तक बिजली का कोई पैसा नहीं देना पड़ेगा। इससे राज्य के कुल 1 करोड़ 67 लाख परिवारों को लाभ होगा। हमने यह…

— Nitish Kumar (@NitishKumar) July 17, 2025

Mr Kumar further stated that the state government will fully cover the cost of installing solar power systems for extremely poor families, while others will receive suitable financial assistance under the Kutir Jyoti scheme.

He stated that the state could have up to 10,000 megawatts of solar energy available within the next three years.

"Under the Kutir Jyoti scheme, for extremely poor families, the state government will bear the entire cost of installing solar power plants, and for the rest, the government will provide appropriate support. This means domestic consumers will no longer have to bear any cost for electricity up to 125 units, and at the same time, it is estimated that within the next three years, up to 10,000 megawatts of solar energy will be available in the state,' Mr Kumar's post reads.

This announcement came as a move to woo voters ahead of the state assembly elections scheduled for later this year.

Continuing with his string of poll sop announcements, a day earlier, Bihar CM Kumar directed the Education Department to promptly assess vacancies for teachers in government schools and initiate the process for conducting the Teacher Recruitment Examination (TRE) 4.

The Chief Minister said that the government is committed to filling teaching positions without delay and has asked officials to expedite the recruitment process.

He also reiterated the government's policy on women's reservation in the recruitment process, stating that the 35 per cent quota for women will apply only to those who are residents of Bihar.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)