RJD candidate Satendra Sah was arrested immediately after filing his nomination papers from Bihar’s Sasaram Assembly seat on Monday (October 20, 2025), officials said.

Officers of the police station concerned maintained that Mr. Sah was arrested by Jharkhand Police as a non-bailable warrant (NBW) was pending against him. His supporters were clueless about the developments.

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File photo of Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced a slew of projects which kept key NDA ally, the Janata Dal (United), in good humour, while generating envy from other regional parties
| Photo Credit: The Hindu

Dressed in a cream and red Madhubani saree, featuring Bihar’s iconic art, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman heaped promises on the poll-bound State in her Budget presentation on Saturday (February 1, 2025). The slew of projects kept key NDA ally, the Janata Dal (United), in good humour, while generating envy from other regional parties, as well as taunts from the Opposition’s Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), which termed the announcements empty rhetoric in the absence of a special package for the State. 

Bihar is set to go to the polls later this year. The Mithilanchal region of the State got special attention in the Budget. Key announcements include ₹11,500 crore of financial support for the Western Koshi Canal Extension, Renovation, and Modernisation (ERM) Project, and a new Makhana Board for foxnut farmers. The canal project, Ms. Sitharaman said, will benefit “farmers cultivating over 50,000 hectares of land in Bihar”. 

Foxnuts to airports

The Makhana Board will “improve production, processing, value addition, and marketing” of foxnuts, the Finance Minister said. Mithila Makhana got a Geographical Indication (GI) tag in 2022, and 80% of India’s total makhana production is harvested in Bihar. The move is likely to benefit over five lakh farmers in the region, especially in the districts of Darbhanga, Madhubani, Sitamarhi, Saharsa, Katihar, Purnia, Kishanganj, Araria, Supaul, and Madhepura. Foxnut farmers are predominantly from extremely backward classes, a group that the RJD has been actively trying to woo. 

Aviation is another sector set to get a boost in Bihar. “Greenfield airports will be facilitated in Bihar to meet the future needs of the State. These will be in addition to the expansion of the capacity of Patna airport and a brownfield airport at Bihta,” Ms. Sitharaman said, though no specifics were shared on where the new airports will be located.

Education and temples

“An additional allocation to support capital investments will be provided. The requests of the Bihar government for external assistance from multilateral development banks will be expedited,” Ms. Sitharaman said. Under the Union government’s Purvodaya initiative to develop eastern India, a National Institute of Food Technology, Entrepreneurship, and Management will be established in Bihar. The Budget promises an expansion of hostel and other infrastructure facilities at the Indian Institute of Technology, Patna.

Ms. Sitharaman also promised support for the comprehensive development of the 17 Vishnupad and the Mahabodhi temple corridor, along the lines of the Kashi Vishwanath temple corridor, and pledged aid to develop Nalanda as a tourist centre and revive the Nalanda University to its “glorious stature”.  

Divided views

Applauding the announcements, Bihar Chief Minister and JD(U) chief Nitish Kumar said that the Union Budget was positive and progressive. “The Budget will give further impetus to the development of Bihar” and “will accelerate the economic development of the State,” he said. Another BJP ally, the Lok Janshakti Party (Ramvilas) president and Union Minister Chirag Paswan, credited the National Democratic Alliance’s “double engine” government for “laying the foundation of a developed Bihar”.

The RJD, on the other hand, questioned both the symbolism and substance of the announcements. RJD leader and former Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav said that none of these promises were new. “Everyone including the Bihar government was demanding a special package, which we did not get. the Budget is completely a jumlabaazi (claptrap),” Mr. Yadav said. RJD leader and Rajya Sabha MP Manoj K. Jha dismissed it as “old wine in an old bottle with a stinky wrapper”. 

Taking a potshot at the government, senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said that it was only natural for the government to offer a “bonanza” to Bihar where an election is due later this year. At the same time, he asked, “But why has the other pillar of the NDA, namely Andhra Pradesh, been so cruelly ignored?” Trinamool Congress leader Abhishek Banerjee also criticised the Budget’s focus on Bihar, while ignoring other States, including West Bengal. 

BJP leader and Bihar Minister Nitin Nabin speaks to the media on December 8, 2024. Photo: X/@NitinNabin

On the lines of Jharkhand, Bihar Minister and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Nitin Nabin on Sunday (December 8, 2024) raised the issue of Bangladeshi infiltration.

The Minister asserted that the Bihar government will take strict action against the illegal immigrants taking shelter in Seemanchal regions where Muslims population is over 47%.

Bangladeshi infiltration issue raised by the BJP in Jharkhand backfired and the party saw a humiliating defeat, winning less seats than the last Assembly elections in 2019.

Keeping in mind the Assembly election in Bihar due next year, BJP has once again started its move to build momentum with the issue, which did not work in the neighbouring Jharkhand.

“Action must be taken against Bangladeshi staying in Bihar. In Seemanchal region there is high possibility of infiltration. The resources of Bihar and India must be utilised by the people staying here and not by Bangladeshi. These people must be identified and action should be taken,” Mr. Nabin said while speaking to the media in Patna.

Seemanchal, located in north Bihar, comprises four districts: Purnea, Katihar, Kishanganj and Araria. The four districts represent 24 Assembly constituencies. Seemanchal is therefore important for the 2025 Assembly polls both for the INDIA bloc and the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in Bihar.

When the caste-survey was carried out in Bihar — the BJP was then not the alliance partner of Nitish Kumar’s Janata Dal (United) (JD(U)) — the saffron party had questioned the format in which the exercise was carried out and termed it “flawed” alleging that it could potentially “tamper with the citizenship register.”

The party had said that the process ignored the threat of counting illegal Bangladeshi migrants and Rohingya as Indian citizens. Seemanchal is a border region with Nepal next door and Bangladesh not far away.

Seemanchal, which has a high concentration of the Muslim populations, is considered the stronghold of the Opposition Mahagatbandhan (grand alliance) in Bihar.

In the recently concluded Jharkhand Assembly elections, out of 81 assembly seats, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha-led INDIA bloc won 56 seats while the NDA secured 24 seats.

Bangladeshi infiltration, demography change and corruption were among the major issues the BJP kept raising in Jharkhand during its campaign.

When asked that the issue was raised by BJP in Jharkhand but did not work, Mr. Nabin further said, “This not an issue, it is a matter of investigation and we cannot tolerate Bangladeshi infiltration in Bihar.”

However, alliance partner JD (U) distanced itself from the statement of the BJP Minister.

“Nitish Kumar ji has already carried out the caste based survey and its report is there in public domain. Despite that, if anyone feels that people from other countries are staying in Bihar then it is a matter of central government and centre should look after it.,” said Anjum Ara, spokesperson for the JD (U).

The Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) too slammed BJP for raising the issue, calling it a political stunt.

“Whenever election comes, the BJP starts raising such issues. Border issue comes under the home department of the Centre, so they should look into it. BJP is trying to grab the political benefit from the issue of Bangladeshi infiltration. They did the same in Jharkhand but got nothing. Same results would be visible in Bihar. BJP will never talk about employment and development rather they want to divide and rule by raising Hindu-Muslims issue,” RJD spokesperson Shakti Yadav said.