Bihar Elections 2020: Nitish Kumar announces '7 Nischay part-2'

New Delhi, October 11: With the poll dates for Bihar Assembly elections already announced by the Election Commission of India (ECI), Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Sunday announced Janata Dal Uniteds (JDUs) "7 Nischay part-2" plan for the States development and making it self-reliant in the coming years.

The government will also provide 50 per cent grants, up to a maximum of Rs 3 lakhs, for setting up a new business and on loans of up to Rs 7 lakhs, grants of seven per cent will be given by the government.

Apart from this, for female empowerment, Kumar announced that females passing Class 12 exams will be given Rs 25,000 each, and Rs 50,000 each for passing Graduation as financial help.

The NDA's joint manifesto will be a mixture of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) agenda of 'Atmanirbhar Bihar' and Janata Dal United's (JDU) 7 Nischay (seven promises) part-2.

The major fight in Bihar is between the BJP and JDU led NDA, while Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) led Mahagathbandhan with Congress and Left parties is on the other side.

A senior JDU Leader told ANI that 'Saat Nischay Part-2' is the programme of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, under which mega skill centres would be opened in all districts of the State and one toolroom in all nine divisions across the State to provide necessary entrepreneurship training to youths will also be opened.

Elections will be held in three phases in Bihar on October 28, November 3 and November 7. The results will be announced on November 10.

Kumar, who had emerged victorious in 2015 polls, had announced the Rs 2.7-lakh-crore ''Saat Nischay'' scheme just days ahead of the elections. Electricity, sewage connection, toilets, piped drinking water and metallic roads were some of the components of the scheme.

Back then, his party JD(U) and the BJP were rivals, and the announcement was made to counter Prime Minister Narendra Modi''s Rs 1.25 lakh crore special package for Bihar.

The Grand Alliance, which then comprised the JD(U), the RJD and the Congress, registered a landslide victory, proving that the "sushasan" (good governance) plank worked well for Kumar.