Bihar’s ground shifts in Gandhi’s land as Nitish faces growing youth anger and call for change

Once known for Mahatma Gandhi’s first satyagraha, Champaran today finds itself at the crossroads of Bihar’s politics — between gratitude for Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s governance and growing impatience among youths seeking change.

In West Champaran, where violent dacoities and abductions once defined the 1980s and 1990s, a quieter transformation has taken root. The fear that forced people to leave their homes has given way to a sense of safety, better roads, and modest prosperity.

Yet beneath this calm, the anger of jobless youths simmers — and could well determine which way the district swings in the upcoming Bihar Assembly polls.

Return of the migrants

As per the 2011 Census, West Champaran was among 14 districts in Bihar that began to attract return migrants — a rare “pull factor” in a state long defined by outmigration. Many who came back during the 2020 pandemic have stayed on, opening shops, setting up roadside eateries, or joining small markets.

“I came back because it’s safer now,” said Sanjay Gupta, who runs a highway eatery. “Earlier, we couldn’t keep shops open after dark. Now we work late into the night.”

For Sheela Devi of Bettiah, the improved law and order and proximity to family outweigh the lure of big-city wages. “My elder son went to Mumbai but returned sick and penniless. Now my younger one earns less, but he’s home, safe and happy,” she said.

Such stories fuel goodwill for Nitish Kumar and the NDA, especially among women and older voters who credit the Chief Minister for restoring law and order and connectivity. “He has done what others only promised,” said advocate Ram Babu Kumar. “Migration has fallen, crime has dropped — we can’t deny that.”

The youth question

But for many of the district’s young voters, gratitude is wearing thin. “You can’t keep asking votes for roads every time,” said Raj Kumar, a 28-year-old construction worker who returned home from Hyderabad for Chhath. “We need jobs, not just better roads.”

The sentiment is echoed by Rajesh Kumar, a rickshaw puller in Motihari: “No one hates Nitish, but we need change. The government has failed to give the youth a future.”

That sense of disillusionment is being tapped by both Tejashwi Yadav’s RJD-led Mahagathbandhan — which is trying to energize Bihar’s young electorate — and Prashant Kishor’s Jan Suraaj, which is positioning itself as a clean, developmental alternative to traditional caste politics.

“I’ll vote for Kishor,” said Raj. “Even if he doesn’t win many seats, at least he speaks about stopping Biharis from leaving their homes to find work.”

BJP’s bastion under test

The call for change looms large over the Bettiah constituency, where BJP’s five-term MLA and former Deputy CM Renu Devi faces a multi-cornered contest against Congress’s Wasi Ahmad, Jan Suraaj’s Anil Singh, and Independent Rohit Sikaria. In the 2020 elections, Renu Devi had secured a victory margin of over 18,000 votes — but local undercurrents suggest a tighter race this time.

West Champaran, which votes on November 11 in the second phase, remains a BJP stronghold — it holds seven of the district’s nine Assembly seats. Yet, discontent over job creation, industrial stagnation, and unfulfilled promises like replicating the Chanpatia start-up hub are challenging that dominance.

Between sugar and startups

The district, responsible for 40% of Bihar’s sugar output, has seen rising land values and thriving agro-businesses. “Farmers now sell sugarcane locally instead of taking it to Gorakhpur. Land values have risen 200% in two decades,” said Prateek Edwin Sharma, chairman of Chanakya College of Education.

But Sharma, who also sits on the BJP Minority Morcha’s national executive, admitted that Bihar’s real challenge lies beyond agriculture. “Migration has reduced, but brain drain is severe. We’re losing our best talent. Without investment in education and innovation, Bihar can’t move forward.”

Even BJP MP Sanjay Jaiswal conceded that the government had failed to replicate the success of the Chanpatia start-up zone. He blamed the brief Mahagathbandhan rule between 2022 and 2024 for derailing initiatives but promised renewed momentum with new SEZ and industrial park projects in Kumarbagh once the NDA returns to power.

The verdict ahead

In the land where Gandhi sparked India’s freedom struggle, West Champaran now embodies Bihar’s own quest for emancipation — this time from joblessness and stagnation. Nitish Kumar’s legacy of order and infrastructure is real, but so is the fatigue that comes from promises unmet.

Whether the district continues to reward its long-time guardians or sides with the voices of change may well determine not just its future — but the shape of Bihar’s next political awakening.