A year ahead of Bihar assembly elections, Nitish Kumar embarks on 'Pragati Yatra'

New Delhi: Bihar chief minister and JDU chief Nitish Kumar has once again embarked on a statewide yatra, a year ahead of assembly elections. Kumar started his 'Pragati Yatra' from West Champaran district on Monday. During the day, he attended several programmes, interacted with youth in Bettiah and reviewed the implementation of several schemes, including his 'Seven Commitments' called 'Saat Nishchay'.

In his nearly 20 years as the CM, Kumar has undertaken 14 prominent yatras, the last one being 'Samadhan Yatra' in 2023.

Kumar undertakes these yatras to have a firsthand experience of the implementation of schemes and their impact on the society at large. Besides, he also gets ideas for new government schemes. "Pragati Yatra is all about noticing the change in Bihar whether it is in attracting investment, infrastructure, agriculture, education or healthcare. It also gives an opportunity to the CM to directly interact with the people, especially women and get their feedback on the government's work. Kumar is known for women empowerment in Bihar," Ashok Choudhary, state minister and JDU general secretary told ET.


During the yatra, Kumar will have a special session of interactions with women, a vote bank which he has built over the years.

Amidst the announcement of RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav to give ₹2,500 for women if the party comes to power, there is a considerable pressure on the NDA government to come up with a similar scheme.

"There is no pressure as such. When it comes to new schemes and ideas, Nitish Kumar is the inventor of new schemes. Our Jeevika model is being followed by the Centre. Therefore, it is entirely up to him, and he is someone who knows what women of the state need," Choudhary added.

The first phase of the yatra will end on December 28. After a week's break, the yatra will resume on January 4 and go on till January 13 covering seven districts of the state.