Bihar CM Samrat Choudhary urges people to give up power subsidy

In August last year, ahead of assembly elections, then Bihar CM Nitish Kumar announced 125 units of free electricity for all in the state. In the first financial year, an outlay of ₹3,797 crore was kept for the subsidy under the scheme. However, recently, Bihar CM Samrat Choudhary said the subsidy burden is now costing ₹23,000 crore annually. There are 1.92 crore domestic consumers, and the state offers 125 units of free electricity to all of them. Choudhary appealed to those who can afford the electricity bill, to give up the subsidy to reduce the burden on the state. He added that the money saved on subsidy could be spent of more meaningful things like education. He also gave an example on UP, where the population is almost double that of Bihar but the electricity subsidy spent is only ₹6,000 crore annually. Bihar government is starting a special drive from December where it would reach out to all consumers to check if they want to give up the free subsidy.

The appeal, however, has drawn criticism from the opposition. RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav said that the government is bankrupt and Bihar has become synonymous with financial chaos, administrative disarray, disorder, indiscipline and a vacuum of governance.

Jan Suraj leader Prashant Kishor said that if the government wants people to give up the subsidy, it should also return the votes it got because of the scheme during the 2025 assembly polls and resign.