India General Elections 2024: Bihar students want change

The students of Patna preparing for various competitive exams are unhappy with the inadequate vacancies in government Biharrsquos crumbling infrastructure drug menace availability of liquor despite its ban rampant corruption and paper leaks They say they anticipate a shift in the Central government hoping for positive reforms to address these pressing concernsAlthough Bihar is heavily influenced by caste politics students are pinning their hopes on Rashtriya Janata Dal RJD scion Tejashwi Yadav who has promised job opportunities The inclination of students towards Tejashwi Yadav a popular face of RJD can be detrimental to the sitting MP of Patliputra Ram Kripal Yadavmdasha BJP leader who is known for his close association with the RJD Supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav RJD has been unsuccessfully fielding Misa Bharti the eldest of Lalu and Rabrirsquos nine children against Ram Kripal Yadav since 2014In his partyrsquos manifesto the 34yearold Biharrsquos former deputy chief minister Yadav announced at least one crore jobs for youth in railways armed forces and other government sectors at the national level only if the INDIA bloc comes to power Despite being cognizant of the lsquogundarajrsquo era during the reign of RJD Supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav young students still perceive Tejashwi Yadav as a lsquoyouth iconrsquo in BiharGovernment job aspirants pool resources to share rooms in lodges and attend coaching classes PICDIWAKAR SHARMAldquoTejashwi has a vision at least he is thinking about employment more than any other party leaders who have national recognitionrdquo said Varun Kumar who is preparing for general competitions and resides in a lodge in Patnarsquos Ram Kishore colony Despite scanty resources in their villages a significant number of students from various districts flock to Patna Here they pool resources to share rooms in lodges and attend coaching classes with the aim of cracking competitive exams to improve their standard of livingldquoA plethora of candidates eagerly fills up forms only to face the harsh reality of inadequate vacanciesrdquo said Varun who lives in a lodge at Patnarsquos Bakri Mandi area preparing for general competition ldquoDespite facing the harsh reality we mustered the courage to sit for exams but later discovered that the papers had been leaked This revelation was terribly disappointing especially for economically disadvantaged students like me who have dedicatedly prepared for these exams with the hope of securing a jobrdquo said Varun who hails from an underprivileged family in Sahara districtldquoThough FIRs are registered to investigate the paper leaks but itrsquos all hogwashhellip the underprivileged students always have to sufferrdquo said Varun ldquoNo exams are conducted fairly in Bihar Enough of the politics Now we want a new face At least a new face will do something good for the staterdquoAlok Kumar who hails from Madhubani district is studying medicine and wondered ldquoWhy is there no significant number of medical colleges in Bihar The recent pandemic has underscored the critical importance of medical personnel However the existing medical colleges are plagued by crumbling infrastructure exacerbating the challenges faced by healthcare workersrdquoldquoThe government should think about why students are going to countries like Russia and Ukraine to study medicine Why are private hospitals thriving in Bihar Can a poor farmer afford to visit these top private hospitals in Bihar Why is the government not coming up with more medical collegesrdquo wondered Alok ldquoNaturally we will shift our focus to support Tejashwi Yadav because the existing government has failed to improve infrastructurerdquo he added His lodge partner Prakash Kumar Yadav said ldquoMany government posts are lying vacant but the vacancies are less in all the sectors The government must think about the studentsrdquoRam Kumar has been residing in Patna for the last few years preparing for Bihar Public Service Commission BPSC ldquoEvery time the questions are asked out of syllabus rdquo The Janata Dal United leader Nitish Kumar has held the Chief Ministerrsquos post for the last twodecades Kumar was dubbed as lsquosushashan babursquo in Bihar as he had dethroned the lsquogundarajrsquo But he is now losing his political charm among the younger generationldquoLiquor is banned in the state but it is available everywhere Now the drug menace is a big issue here as the state is becoming lsquoUdta Biharrsquo But the government is not taking any stern action to eradicate the drug menacerdquo said Ram The rapidly shifting political landscape in Bihar has indeed frustrated many voters in the state Nitish Kumarrsquos opportunistic maneuvers jumping from one political front to another solely to maintain his coveted position have left a sour taste among the electorate