Nitish Eyes Minority Connect Ahead Of Bihar Polls
From citing madrasa reforms to welfare schemes, Nitish carefully wove a narrative of inclusivity, write Dev Raj & Abinash Kumar.
Published : August 21, 2025 at 5:36 PM IST
|Updated : August 21, 2025 at 6:11 PM IST
Patna: With assembly elections around the corner in Bihar, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has gone for an outreach of the state’s Muslim community, a decisive 17 per cent of the electorate. Kumar used the centenary celebrations of the Bihar State Madrasa Education Board as a political stage, pitching himself as a leader committed to Muslim welfare.
From citing madrasa reforms to enhanced budgets and welfare schemes for women and youth, Nitish carefully wove a narrative of inclusivity, while making a direct bid to reclaim the minority vote bank that has steadily drifted away from him in recent years.
On Thursday, he inaugurated the centenary celebration of the Bihar State Madrasa Education Board in Patna and asserted that he was the only leader concerned about the welfare of the minority community and has been continuously working for them.
Though he stopped short of making any major announcement, he recounted the work done by his government for them. The move is being seen as an attempt to woo the community ahead of the forthcoming Assembly elections.
“The Board is celebrating its centenary, and around 15,000 people are participating in this function. No work was done for the uplift of the Muslim community in Bihar prior to 2005. We formed the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government in the state on November 24, 2005 and have been working for them since then,” Nitish said.
“The Madrasas were in very poor condition, and the teachers working in them used to get little money. Our government registered and recognised them in 2006 and started giving madrasa teachers’ salaries at par with government school teachers,” he added.
Nitish pointed out that his government started providing Rs 10,000 assistance to the Muslim women, who were divorced or abandoned by their husbands, since 2007, to help them in employment. It has now been increased to Rs 25,000. Speaking in the same vein, Nitish said, “Don’t abandon your women; they face a lot of difficulties.”
The remark drew laughter from the audience. “We are also taking several steps through the minority welfare department to help Muslim students in their studies. The department’s budget was just Rs 3.54 crore in 2004-05 (when the Rashtriya Janata Dal was in power). It has now gone up Rs 1080 crore. We are also working to help provide employment to Muslim youths,” Nitish added.
Speaking further on the occasion, the chief minister reminded about communal strife connected to graveyards and said that he initiated the construction of boundary walls around them in 2006 to stop such occurrences. He also pointed out that the NDA government led by him conducted a proper probe into the Bhagalpur riots of 1989 and ensured action against the culprits after coming to power in the state.
The victims and their families were given compensation. Bihar has at present 3,558 madrasas, of which 1,942 currently receive financial assistance from the government. During the event, a section of the teachers staged a protest demanding similar grants for the remaining madrasas too.
This prompted the chief minister to assert, “We are the ones working for you all. You must remember it.” The teachers, too, retorted that he would surely return to power if he provided the necessary grants. “If the Chief Minister gives us a grant, then Nitish Kumar will definitely win again in the coming elections,” said Abu Talah, a teacher at a madrasa in Katihar.
Asserting that he was working for all castes, communities and sections of the society, he also talked about his recent initiatives to increase various types of social security pensions from Rs 400 to Rs 1100, providing 125 units of free electricity, and approving development projects worth Rs 50,430 crore.
Asif Wasi, secretary of the Gandhi Sangrahalaya in Patna, said Nitish Kumar has done quite a bit of work for the Muslims. “There may be some anger over certain issues, but one should look at the work Nitish Kumar has done. However, it is shameful that voting in Bihar is based on caste and religion, but not on development,” Wasi added.
A Major Challenge for Nitish to Win Over Muslims With over 17 per cent of the 13.07 crore population of Bihar, the Muslim community holds considerable political sway in the state, especially on over 40 assembly seats, including those in the Seemanchal region (Northeastern Bihar).
Despite his initiatives for the community, Nitish faced a major setback in the 2020 Assembly polls when none of the 11 Muslim candidates fielded by his party, Janata Dal United (JDU), could win. This conference, held under the guise of the Madrasa Board's anniversary, was an attempt to unite and appease the Muslim community.
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