Patna (Bihar) [India], October 31 : The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) has promised to form a committee which will assess the social and economic conditions of the Extremely Backward Classes (EBCs), which will subsequently give recommendations for the community's upliftment, Deputy Chief Minister, and Bharatiya Janata Party's candidate for Bihar polls Samrat Chaudhary said on Friday.
Apart from the committee's formation, the Deputy CM also announced that different categories of EBCs will receive Rs 10 lakh financial help.
"Under the chairmanship of a retired Supreme Court judge, we will form a high-level committee which will assess the social and financial conditions of different communities under Extremely Backward Classes and make suggestions to the government for the upliftment of these communities," Deputy CM Chaudhary said during a press conference here.
Following the release of the NDA manifesto on Friday, the 'Sankalp Patra', upliftment of EBCs is a major poll promise of the alliance.
"Financial and social empowerment of Extremely Backward Classes is very important. Different categories of Extremely Backward Classes will be given financial help of Rs 10 Lakhs," Chaudhary added.
EBCs are the single biggest group in Bihar, making them an important electorate for both the NDA and the Mahagathbandhan to garner support from.
According to the Bihar caste survey, released on October 2023, 36.01%, 47,080,514 people, are under the EBC category. Combined with the larger category of the Backwards Classes (BC) category, both communities comprise around 63% of the state's population. Around 35% of all households, or 9,884,904 households, are EBCs.
According to the survey, 33.58% of EBC households earn an annual income of less than Rs 6,000. Notably, around 66% of households earn less than Rs 10,000.
Earlier today, Union Minister and BJP chief JP Nadda, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, Union Minister and Hindustan Awam Morcha (Secular) custodian Jitan Ram Manjhi, Union Minister and Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) chief Chirag Paswan, Rashtriya Lok Morcha chief Upendra Kushwaha and other key leaders jointly released NDA's manifesto.
The voting for the 243-seat Bihar Assembly will be held in two phases on November 6 and 11, whereas bye-elections for eight seats across seven states and Union Territories will be held on November 11. The results for both will be declared on November 14.
On Tuesday, the Mahagathbandhan, led by Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and Congress, released its manifesto titled 'Bihar Ka Tejashwi Pran,' promising to pass a law within 20 days of forming government, to provide government jobs to one member of every family in the state.