PATNA, June 27 -- With speculations about Nitish Kumar gearing up for his 9th term as Bihar chief minister, he seems to be on a payback drive for his people and in its wake snatching the development agenda from Opposition's clutches. Almost daily announcements about some scheme or project reflect that not only his government is ensuring that the people get a taste of fulfilment of promises. Be it almost three-time increase in old-age pension to benefit around 1.10-crore people, doubling the monthly emoluments to nearly 1.4-lakh of Jeevika self-help group woman workers, large-scale recruitment in several departments, subsidised loans and implementation of schemes and programmes worth Rs.50,000-crore announced during his Pragati Yatra, Kumar's government is on an overdrive ahead of the state election scheduled in October-November. Nitish Kumar has also announced Rs.2-lakh financial aid to each of the 94-lakh families identified in the below poverty line (BPL) category in the caste-based survey conducted in Bihar in 2023 and it will benefit all poor cutting across caste or creed. The Nitish cabinet had approved the financial aid proposal, to be paid in three instalments, last year itself, but now it is working to implement it before election. Besides, the government came out with significant reforms and financial incentives for panchayati Raj representatives, including hike in monthly allowance of mukhiya, sarpanch, ward members etc. by 1.5 times, and project sanctioning cap for mukhiya from Rs.5-lakh to Rs.10-lakh, and construction of 8,053 marriage halls in every panchayat. Besides, the Prime Minister Narendra Modi led central government in the last two budgets and the inauguration and foundation laying spree involving thousands of crores during his four visits this year. A senior BJP leader said that the PM is expected to pay around half a dozen visits in the coming months and that would only augur well for the state in terms of incoming investments. One of the key issues for the Opposition was the caste-based census and the Centre also announced it in a clear departure of the past and Nitish Kumar makes it a point at every public meeting of the PM to highlight it as a 'big initiative'. "It was, after all, Nitish Kumar's demand all through and there is nothing surprising if he lauds the Pam for it," said JD-U spokesman Neeraj Kumar. In December 2024, leader of Opposition Tejashwi Prasad Yadav had announced to give Rs.2,500/month to every woman under the Mai Bahan Yojana and increase in old-age, disability and widow pension, 200 units of free electricity and subsidised cylinder. He has also been raising the issue of unemployment, migration and poverty. "The NDA led by Nitish Kumar in Bihar is under pressure and is delivering on promises made by the Grand Alliance (GA) government, when we were part of it. Our relentless pressure on the core issues confronting Bihar being in the Opposition has made Nitish do what it discarded earlier. People understand that this panic reaction is due to election and growing pressure of Opposition," said Tejashwi. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Vijay Kumar Choudhary, on the other hand, said the line drawn by Nitish Kumar was too big for Tejashwi to match with sheer rhetoric and people understand how the Bihar government had ushered in transformation in the state over two decades....