Amidst the excitement of by-elections in Bihar, the issue of “Jeevika Didi” has once again come to the center of politics. Jan Suraj Party leader and party candidate from Bankipur assembly seat Prashant Kishore held a press conference in Patna on Sunday and made serious allegations against the NDA alliance and the local administration. He clearly said that if Jeevika Didi’s cadre is not separated from the entire election process within the next 24 hours, then Jan Suraj workers and he himself will sit on an indefinite strike outside the Election Commission office tomorrow. The controversy related to Jeevika Didi is related to the elections held in November 2025. At that time there were allegations that these sisters had campaigned for BJP and JDU. Let us understand through this recent statement what this Jeevika Didi is. How many people are they in Bihar and what kind of allegations have been leveled against them in the elections?
What is the whole controversy
Prashant Kishore alleges that the people of the ruling NDA in the state are politically and misused Jeevika Didi’s network. He says that the voters are being constantly intimidated and shown the fear that if they do not vote in favor of the NDA, they will be deprived of the benefits of government schemes. He also raised questions on the role of the Patna District Magistrate and alleged that the heads of the administration are also involved in the misuse of this system.
Prashant Kishore also told that he and his colleagues have already met the Election Commission twice regarding this matter and have lodged a written complaint. He also alleged that the administration is deliberately harassing Jan Suraj workers and their supporters staying in hotels, whereas BJP workers are not being treated like this.
Jeevika Didi, what a great power in Bihar!
The issue of Jeevika Didi becomes important in every election because it is the largest and most organized women’s grassroots network in Bihar. Former Chief Minister Nitish Kumar had started it under the Bihar Rural Livelihood Mission with the help of the World Bank. According to current data, more than 13 lakh Self Help Groups (SHGs) are active in the state. According to reports, more than 1.4 crore women are associated with it. Each group usually consists of 10 to 15 women, who save together and, when needed, give loans among themselves at low interest. The government aims to take this circle to 1.5 crore members. One Jeevika Didi is earning an average of Rs 10 to 25 thousand per month and till now this group has taken a loan of about Rs 34 thousand crore. Due to such a large network, Jeevika Didi has become a direct link between the government and common women in every village and every panchayat. This is the reason why controversy has been arising regarding their role during the election season.
What is the matter of “game” in elections?
The opposition and parties like Jan Suraj have been alleging that the ruling coalition is using the structure of Jeevika Didi for electoral gains. According to the allegation, since Jeevika groups are directly linked to the distribution of government schemes, grants and loans, meetings of these groups are organized just before voting, reminding them of government benefits and giving informal messages of “stay with the government”. It has also been alleged that through Jeevika Didi, women voters are mobilized at the booth level and they also play a role in transporting them to the center on the day of voting.
What are the allegations against Jeevika Didi?
Even in the last assembly elections, it has been alleged that Jeevika Didi Network carried out undeclared campaigning in favor of BJP and JDU, because the implementation of the scheme is done through the administrative staff and the meetings held in the presence of local officials were seen as a way to create an environment favorable to the ruling party. However, both the government and Jeevika administration have been rejecting these allegations outright and calling it merely a scheme for women empowerment.
At present the ball is in the court of the Election Commission. Prashant Kishore has made it clear that if Jeevika Didi’s cadre is not separated from the election process within 24 hours, then Jan Suraj will stage a protest outside the Commission office tomorrow. On the other hand, BJP has also hit back at Jan Suraj and filed a complaint regarding election expenses and campaign techniques. This conflict is likely to intensify further before the results of Bankipur by-election, and the attitude of the Election Commission will decide the direction of this dispute.
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