Bihar Election 2025: Nitish Kumar's Free 125-Unit Electricity Move Echoes Kejriwal's Strategy?

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has announced a major relief for domestic consumers: no charges for electricity up to 125 units, effective from August 1, 2025.

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. (Photo: ANI)

In a major pre-poll announcement, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Thursday said electricity consumers in the state will get a maximum of 125 units of free electricity every month from August 1, 2025. This major welfare scheme, which will benefit an estimated 1.67 crore families, is being viewed as a calculated step before the state assembly polls this year.

Free Power & Solar Push

Kumar provided the information on social networking website X, saying, "We have been giving electricity to all at low prices right from the start. Now we have made up our minds that from August 1, 2025, i.e., from the July bill itself, all domestic consumers in the state will not have to pay any money for electricity for up to 125 units. This will be a gain for as many as 1 crore 67 lakh families in the state."

हमलोग शुरू से ही सस्ती दरों पर सभी को बिजली उपलब्ध करा रहे हैं। अब हमने तय कर दिया है कि 1 अगस्त, 2025 से यानी जुलाई माह के बिल से ही राज्य के सभी घरेलू उपभोक्ताओं को 125 यूनिट तक बिजली का कोई पैसा नहीं देना पड़ेगा। इससे राज्य के कुल 1 करोड़ 67 लाख परिवारों को लाभ होगा। हमने यह… — Nitish Kumar (@NitishKumar) July 17, 2025

Aside from immediate relief, the Chief Minister also announced a grand plan of solar power. He announced that, subject to the consent of consumers, solar power plants will be installed on roofs or other nearby public locations for household consumers within the next three years.

Under the Kutir Jyoti scheme, the state government will provide total installation charges of these solar systems to the 'extremely poor families' and appropriate support to others. The expected possible production from these photovoltaic/ renewable sources would be as much as 10,000 megawatts in three years from now, ensuring sustainable power along with free unit provision.

Election Strategy and Other Sops

This power announcement is the latest in a string of populism moves by the Chief Minister before the elections. Yesterday, Kumar had instructed the Education Department to quickly review teacher vacancies in government schools and initiate the process for the Teacher Recruitment Examination (TRE) 4.

He stressed the government's resolve to fill teaching vacancies at the earliest and reaffirmed the policy of 35% reservation of women in recruitment, but only for Bihar residents. These actions highlight the government's priority on core services and job creation as it prepares for the election battle.