New Delhi: As Bihar heads into the final phase of its Assembly elections, a new white paper by the All India Milli Council (AIMC) has sharply questioned Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s two decades in power, calling it a collapse of governance marked by rising crime, corruption, mass migration, crumbling infrastructure, and growing communal division.
The first phase of polling was held on November 6, while the second and final phase is scheduled for November 11. The first phase of polling recorded a 64.6 percent voter turnout.
As campaigning intensifies between the NDA and the Mahagathbandhan (MGB) alliances, the AIMC report — “Performance of ‘Sushasan Babu’ Governance in Bihar” — offers a sobering assessment of the 20-year rule of a leader once hailed for ushering in “good governance.”
The 70-page report examines Nitish Kumar’s record across key sectors including governance, economy, infrastructure, migration, corruption, poverty, inflation, education, public health, women’s safety, communal harmony, and law and order. Drawing on official data and field observations, it concludes that “the promise of good governance remains largely unfulfilled.”
Law and ‘Disorder’: Back to Jungle Raj?
According to the white paper, Bihar’s overall crime rate has surged by 80.2 percent between 2005 and 2024, and by 32.5 percent between 2015 and 2023, based on State Crime Records Bureau (SCRB) data. In 2023 alone, 3.54 lakh criminal cases were registered, placing Bihar among the ten worst states in the country.
The report notes the irony that Nitish Kumar — once credited with ending the “Jungle Raj” of the 1990s — now faces its apparent return, with crime figures rising every year since he resumed office in 2015. The sharpest spike came in 2017, when cases jumped 24.4 percent.
Even within the ruling alliance, dissatisfaction has surfaced: both RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav and NDA ally Chirag Paswan have criticised the government’s failure to maintain law and order.
No Longer a Minority Favourite
Once regarded as a trusted ally of Bihar’s Muslim community, Nitish Kumar’s relationship with minorities has eroded sharply, according to the report.
It identifies the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025, supported by his party JD(U), as the major turning point. The legislation, which restructured control over Muslim religious endowments, is described as “a measure that completed the estrangement of the community.” Despite objections from Muslim leaders within his own party, the paper notes, Nitish “chose silence.”
In the 2020 Assembly elections, the JD(U) fielded nine Muslim candidates, none of whom won, while 19 Muslim legislators were elected from Opposition parties. Ahead of the 2025 polls, the JD(U) has reduced its Muslim representation to four out of 101 seats.
Citing CVoter election surveys, the report recalls that the JD(U) once received around 20 percent of the Muslim vote when allied with secular parties, compared with about 14 percent when partnered with the BJP — a decline that reflects “waning trust and political distancing” among Bihar’s Muslims.
An Economy on Life Support
The Milli Council report identifies unemployment and low labour participation as Bihar’s biggest barriers to inclusive growth. Citing the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS), it notes that while the state’s unemployment rate in April–June 2025 stood at 5.2 percent—slightly below the national average—this masks weak job creation, as the Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR) remains just 48.8 percent.
Among youth aged 15–29, participation plunges to 33.9 percent, the lowest in India. More than 3.16 crore workers, nearly one-third of Bihar’s population, are registered on the e-Shram portal, second only to Uttar Pradesh — a clear sign of employment distress.
Industrial activity remains stagnant. The Annual Survey of Industries (2023–24) records only 3,386 factories in Bihar—just 1.3 percent of India’s total—employing 1.17 lakh workers (0.75 percent of the national industrial workforce). The report attributes this stagnation to poor infrastructure, policy delays, and the absence of large-scale investment since the bifurcation of Jharkhand in 2000.
Economist Prasanna Mohanty, quoted in the paper, observes:“Despite steady growth, Bihar remains trapped in poverty and underdevelopment due to historical setbacks, fiscal fragility, and persistent policy failure.”
The report notes that 33.76 percent of Bihar’s population remains poor — the highest in India — as per NITI Aayog’s Multidimensional Poverty Index (2019–21). Rural poverty stands at 36.72 percent and urban poverty at 13.55 percent, reflecting the country’s widest rural–urban gap. Bihar also reports the lowest per-capita monthly consumption expenditure among major states.
Between January and September 2025, consumer price inflation in Bihar averaged below 2 percent, even turning negative (–0.5 percent) in September, compared with the national average of 2.72 percent.
While this suggests price stability, the report cautions that the deflationary trend signals weak purchasing power and depressed demand — a symptom of economic stagnation rather than prosperity.
Migration of Bihar’s Workforce
Migration remains one of the starkest indicators of Bihar’s economic failure. The report estimates that nearly 30 million Biharis — about one-fourth of the state’s population — live or work outside the state, primarily in Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Delhi, Maharashtra, and Haryana.
It notes that the number of out-migrants increased from 74 lakh in 2024 to 75 lakh in 2025, reflecting persistent dependence on external labour markets. The paper links this exodus to Bihar’s loss of its industrial heartland—Jamshedpur, Bokaro, and Dhanbad—after Jharkhand’s creation in 2000, and asserts that two decades of Nitish’s rule failed to rebuild what was lost.
Corruption: Return of the Old Ghosts
Nitish Kumar’s initial rise to power in 2005 was built on his promise to end corruption. Two decades later, the AIMC report claims that “the same menace has returned with renewed force.”
It lists several major scandals — including the Srijan scam, MNREGA irregularities, paddy procurement scam, and recruitment exam leaks in the Bihar Public Service Commission (BPSC) — as evidence of an entrenched culture of graft across departments.
Bridge Collapses
The white paper calls Bihar’s string of bridge collapses in 2024 and 2025 a reflection of “infrastructure corruption.”
Between June 2024 and September 2025, the report documents 18 bridge collapses, several before inauguration.
Notable examples include:
- A Rs.12-crore bridge over the Bakra River in Araria, collapsed in June 2024;
- 3 bridges in Saran district that gave way within a week; and
- A railway overbridge in Nalanda, Nitish’s home district, that crumbled in September 2025.
Rising Communal Incidents and Violence
Contrary to Bihar’s earlier reputation for communal calm, the report records a sharp rise in communal incidents between 2020 and 2025.
Major flashpoints occurred in Nalanda and Sasaram (2023) during Ram Navami processions, which turned violent and destroyed a century-old madrasa library.
Similar clashes were reported in Bhagalpur, Siwan, Darbhanga, Jamui, and Katihar, with 65 incidents of communal violence documented in 2024, placing Bihar second only to Madhya Pradesh.
Violence Against Women
Despite the much-publicised prohibition policy, Bihar remains among India’s most unsafe states for women.
The National Commission for Women (NCW) received 28,811 complaints in 2023, the second-highest in the country.
One in three women reports physical, sexual, or emotional violence. The paper notes that prohibition has led to only a marginal decline, with enforcement challenges persisting.
Public Health in Collapse
Bihar continues to face severe healthcare shortages, particularly in rural areas.
The report cites a 45% shortage of doctors, 70% of specialists, and 84% of paramedical staff, resulting in poor service delivery.
It also highlights a 35% prevalence of cardiovascular diseases, while rural districts lack diagnostic and treatment facilities.
Private healthcare, it warns, is mostly unregulated and unaffordable for ordinary citizens.
Education
The report raises serious concern over Bihar’s education system.
Government school enrolment fell from 18.85 million in 2022–23 to 17.92 million in 2023–24 — a decline of over 9 lakh students in one year.
Bihar also recorded 2.77 million dropouts at the elementary level (Grades 1–8), the highest in India.
Learning outcomes remain weak: 31.9 percent of Class 1 students cannot recognise numbers 1–9, and 40 percent of Class 8 students cannot perform basic division.
Over the past decade, 4,485 government schools have been closed or merged, further limiting access, particularly in rural areas.
Paper Leaks
Once an ancient seat of learning, Bihar is now known for repeated examination paper leak scandals under the Nitish government.
A “rate chart” of leaked question papers released in Patna by Rajya Sabha MP Digvijaya Singh reportedly showed NEET-PG papers priced at Rs.70–80 lakh and NEET-UG papers at Rs.30–40 lakh.
The report lists several exam leak cases:
- Constable Recruitment Exams (2017, 2019, 2021, 2022)
- Excise Department Exam (2021–22)
- BPSC 67th Preliminary Test Leak (2022)
- Amin Recruitment Exam (2023)
- BPSC Teacher Recruitment (2024)
- CHO Recruitment Exam (2024) under the Health Department.
Political Background: Rise and Fall of ‘Sushasan Babu’
The AIMC traces Nitish Kumar’s political journey as a paradox — the story of a leader who rose on the promise of clean governance but became known for political opportunism.
Between 2000 and 2025, Nitish has ruled Bihar for 18 years and 90 days across nine separate terms, alternating between the NDA and Mahagathbandhan coalitions.
His repeated shifts, the report notes, eroded policy continuity and public confidence. After the 2020 Assembly elections, Nitish continued as Chief Minister despite the JD(U) finishing as the junior partner. He later left the BJP in August 2022, joined the RJD–Congress alliance, and returned again to the NDA in January 2024, marking his ninth swearing-in.
The End of the ‘Sushasan’ Era?
The AIMC clarifies that the objective of its white paper is not political but civic — to encourage informed voting and evidence-based reflection on 20 years of governance in Bihar.
The report concludes that Nitish Kumar’s two-decade rule — once praised as “Sushasan” (good governance) — now stands questioned on nearly every front.
From economic growth and education to social justice and law enforcement, Bihar exhibits deep systemic failures.
With results due on November 14, the white paper leaves voters with a defining question: Will Bihar finally end Nitish Kumar’s long reign, or will “Sushasan Babu” survive one more political rebirth?