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29-09-2025
Bureau Report
NEW DELHI: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi transferred 75 billion rupees ($845 million) to women in election-bound Bihar on Friday under an employment plan launched by his ruling alliance as it tries to retain power in the crucial eastern state.
India’s third most populous state and also one of its poorest, Bihar is ruled by Modi’s National Democratic Alliance and is scheduled to hold an election to its state assembly in the coming weeks.
Women voters have turned out in greater numbers in the past decade, reversing a trend of men easily outnumbering women at the polls, and political parties have competed to attract them.
Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party lost its outright majority in the federal parliament in last year’s national election, forcing him to rely on support from regional allies to form a government after facing a resurgent opposition, and he is currently navigating one of the most challenging stretches of his 11 years in office.
Addressing women gathered in multiple locations in the state, Modi said via video link; I see millions of women on the screen, and their blessings are a great source of strength for all of us.
“The (women’s employment plan) is being launched today. So far, 7.5 million women have joined this scheme, and an amount of 10,000 rupees has been transferred to the bank accounts of all these women,” he said.
The plan is envisaged as giving support to women to enable their employment in small-scale ventures such as agriculture, handicrafts and other sectors, the Prime Minister’s Office said. Beneficiaries can also avail of additional financial support of up to 200,000 rupees in subsequent phases of the plan.
Modi’s ruling NDA will face the opposition Congress and its allies in Bihar, which is considered a bellwether state, along with neighboring Uttar Pradesh and the western state of Maharashtra. ($1 = 88.7080 Indian rupees)
Meanwhile, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is navigating one of the most challenging stretches of his 11 years in office. A contentious ceasefire with archenemy Pakistan, renewed scrutiny over his age and a diplomatic chill with the United States despite much-publicized rapport with President Donald Trump have converged to test his leadership like never before.
While he needs to deal with these headwinds, Modi also has to answer opposition charges of vote-rigging in the 2024 general election. The challenges are coming to a head just before a difficult electoral battle in Bihar, one of India’s most politically significant states.
A defeat in the vote to the state assembly would not affect Modi’s position in the national parliament, but it would be a hammer blow to the reputation of a leader who has maintained a vice-like grip on power since he was elected prime minister over a decade ago.
This week, Trump’s administration announced a total 50% tariff on imports from India, among the highest of any country in the world, throwing the bilateral relationship into deep disarray. Yet, until just six months ago, Trump and Modi were exchanging bear hugs and describing each other as close friends.
“The Indo-US relation sort of revolved around the personalities of Donald Trump and Narendra Modi,” New Delhi-based political commentator Arati Jerath said.
“So now when it’s souring, Modi has no buffer at all. There is a fair amount of disappointment that this strong leader has not been able to show the kind of strength and muscularity that he claimed to have.”
