The National Democratic Alliance (NDA), led by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), on Friday released its manifesto for the upcoming assembly elections in Bihar and promised to make the state flood-free in five years if they retain the power.
Rivers like Ganga, Kosi, Gandak, and Burhi Gandak cause severe floods in Bihar during monsoon every year, damaging crops. More than 25 lakh people were affected by the flood in the state this year.
The NDA, which comprises the BJP, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's Janata Dal (United), Union Minister Chirag Paswan's Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas), Union Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi's Hindustani Awam Morcha and Rajya Sabha MP Upendra Kushwaha's Rashtriya Lok Morcha, said they will establish a flood management board if they get another term.
They will construct river-linking projects, embankments, and canals under the "flood to fortune" model to promote agriculture and fisheries, according to the 69-page 'Sankalp Patra', which was released by BJP chief JP Nadda and Nitish Kumar in Patna in the presence of senior leaders of the alliance.
The NDA also said it will launch a 'Karpuri Thakur Kisan Samman Nidhi' scheme, named after former Bihar chief minister and Bharat Ratna awardee, to provide farmers with benefits of Rs 3,000 per year.
They promised Rs 1 lakh crore investment in agri-infrastructure and said that all major crops -- paddy, wheat, pulses and maize -- will be procured at Minimum Support Price (MSP) at the panchayat level.
The NDA also said it will provide free rations, 125 units of free electricity, free treatment up to Rs 5 lakh, 50 lakh new houses and social security pension rates to poor families.
The alliance also made promises to provide over a crore government jobs and said they will turn a crore women into 'lakhpati didis'.
Polling in Bihar will be held in two phases on November 6 and 11, and results will be announced on November 14.
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