Unemployment amongst migrant workers might become a problem for the Nitish Kumar Govt.

The relevance of Unemployment in Elections.

The state of Bihar is preparing for elections that are scheduled to be held in three phases. The people of Bihar will go to polls on 28^th October, 3^rd November, and 7^th November. The highlight of this state election is that it is scheduled amidst the Covid-19 pandemic.

However, there are other highlights related to the Covid-19 pandemic which must be studied in relation to the Bihar state elections. The Print reported on 30^th May that around 17 lakh migrant workers have returned to the state of Bihar.

These migrant workers might become an electoral problem for the Nitish Kumar government. Why? In April, the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) published its survey report which stated the unemployment rate in Bihar to be at 46.6 per cent. That is double the national average.

Public policy, in general, will have to focus on the returned migrant workers or the rural economy of Bihar might collapse. With more labourin the market and less job, wages are likely to reduce. Government spending in terms of direct cash transfer needs to increase to keep the economy moving.

It is because migrant workers are very unlikely to return. It is because of what they faced in the cities they were working in. Their employers abandoned them, the police beat them up, and they had no money to pay rent or feed themselves. With a sense of desperation, the migrant workers returned to their home state of Bihar, sometimes even on foot.

Contrast this with the promise Nitish Kumar made to the people of Bihar back in 2005. His promise was that the people of Bihar will not need to go out of their home state in search of work. The relevance of a 15-year-old promise might be decided by migrant workers in 2020.