Young voters on the walls of the art wing of AN College, Patna, on May 10, 2019, look at Madhubani paintings created for voter awareness for the ongoing assembly elections. File | Photo credit: The Hindu
“Andha kya mange, aankho ki roshni. Berojgar yuva kya mange, naukri-aur kya? (What a blind person needs is sight. What an unemployed youth needs is a job – what else?),” says Aaditya Kumar, 21, one of a group of young students on PatnaedamAP’s newly built AbduledJAP pavement. Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar recently inaugurated the center but it has not yet been opened to the public.
A few meters away, inside the Moin-ul-Haq Stadium in the Rajendra Nagar area, several other young voters study under the open sky, a tree and a steamer adjacent to the local Kadam Kuan police station. These young voters pay a monthly rent of ₹3,000 to ₹5,500 for the dubious privilege of living in damp, dirty rooms of cottages and hostels in the neighborhood and come to the place every evening to study in a group for “guidance and motivation from other students”. Most are preparing to compete for positions in the civil service. “Karo to sarkari naukari, nahi to becho tarkari (Are you working in government or else selling vegetables),” a student in the corner whispers sheepishly as his friends burst into laughter.
In Bihar, where the polls were held, most young voters agree that the need for government jobs is their top priority. There are about 1.63 million voters between the ages of 18 and 29, making up 22% of the state’s electorate, of which 1.5 million are over the age of 20. The final electoral roll released after the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise included the addition of more than 14 million first-time voters.
Competing Claims
Both the ruling NDA and the opposition alliance are highlighting their promises of providing jobs to the unemployed youth to woo this critical bloc of voters. The Nitish Kumar-led NDA government recently said it was giving out thousands of appointment letters for jobs in various sectors, with the chief minister promising “one million more jobs in future” at several events.
On the other side of the political divide, Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Tejashwi Yadav also trumpeted his claim of providing thousands of jobs during the 17 months of the previous mahagathbandhan government when he was the deputy chief minister of the state. “One can imagine how many more jobs will be created when our government comes to power,” he says.
“Why is the issue of employment or work for young people only addressed when the state intervenes during an election period? Why is it not an issue for years when the government is in power?” wondered Saurabh Kumar, 23, returning from a group study.
Migration trigger
According to the Periodic Labor Force Survey (PLFS) 2021-22, the unemployment rate in Bihar is 5.9%, which is higher than the national average of 4.1%. In the 15-29 age group, the unemployment rate is 20.1%, compared to the national average of 12.4%.
“Lack of job opportunities has also forced thousands of migrants to leave their native state for livelihood,” DM Diwakar, former director of Patna-based AN Sinha Institute of Social Sciences, told The Hindu. He added that there was no “clarity on job creation” in the government, either in the state or at the Centre.
Economist Sudhanshu Kumar, associate professor at the Bihar Institute of Public Finance and Policy, agreed that “the youth employment scenario in the state is very worrying”. He added, “The youth in the state are mostly engaged in the informal economy and survive through self-employment or casual jobs. In urban areas, people settle for jobs far below their expertise, while in rural Bihar, undercover employment is common.”
Split poll preferences
When young voters were asked to name their favorite leaders or parties they intended to vote for, they were divided. Some say that “regime change every five years is a must”, while others prefer the current chief minister who is “working badhiya (well) for the state as a whole”.
Others added, “New political entrant Prashant Kishor talks sense and raises a real issue regarding the youth and people of Bihar. Another youth group favors RJD leader Mr. Yadav because ‘he is young himself and would do something concrete for our generation of employed’.”
“Whoever comes to power after November 14 should give us more job reservations for Bihar youth and implement 100% permanent residence policy,” said Aaditya Kumar.
Published – 16 Oct 2025 03:13 IST
