The Jan Suraaj Party, founded by political strategist Prashant Kishor, has approached the Supreme Court of India alleging that the Bihar government misused a newly launched welfare scheme to influence voters during the 2025 Assembly elections.
The party has accused the state government of engaging in âcorrupt practicesâ by transferring cash directly to beneficiaries while the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) was in force, arguing that such actions undermined the fairness of the electoral process.
Challenge to Mukhyamantri Mahila Rojgar Yojana
In its petition, Jan Suraaj has questioned the implementation of the Mukhyamantri Mahila Rojgar Yojana, introduced shortly before the elections by the Nitish Kumar-led government. Under the scheme, the state announced a transfer of Rs 10,000 to one woman per family to support self-employment, along with a promise of an additional Rs 2 lakh after assessment.
The party contended that both the timing and design of the programme were intended to influence voters. It pointed out that eligibility for the benefit was linked to membership of JEEVIKA, a network of womenâs self-help groups, and that women who were not already members were allowed to enrol to receive the assistance.
ALSO READ | How Mumbaiâs upcoming mayor will be a woman: Explaining the quota lottery
According to the petition, around one crore women were members of JEEVIKA before the MCC came into force.
However, subsequent newspaper reports suggested that about 1.56 crore women eventually received payments. Jan Suraaj argued that this showed new beneficiaries were added and given money even after the election schedule was announced.
Allegations against EC
Jan Suraaj maintained that releasing funds during this period violated Election Commission guidelines, which bar governments from announcing or expanding welfare schemes, releasing fresh funds, or processing beneficiary-oriented programmes once elections are notified, if such actions are likely to influence voters. The petition said these steps strike at the âcore requirement of free and fair electionsâ and deny opposition parties a level playing field.
The plea also criticised the role of the Election Commission of India, alleging that women beneficiaries of the scheme were deployed at polling booths on voting days in both phases of the election, despite having already received cash benefits.
According to the party, this had no rational justification and weakened electoral neutrality.
ALSO READ | SC nudges ED to form SIT in alleged public funds siphoning case against Anil Ambani
Another key issue raised was the source of funding. Jan Suraaj claimed the scheme was approved through a cabinet decision without legislative sanction and that funds were drawn from the Stateâs Contingency Fund in violation of Article 267 of the Constitution. It further asserted that the programme was not part of the regular budgetary process.
Although Jan Suraaj contested 242 of Biharâs 243 Assembly constituencies in 2025, it failed to win any seats. The party told the Court it is relying mainly on newspaper reports due to the absence of official data on government websites.
Filed through advocate Aditya Singh, the matter is expected to be heard by a bench led by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant on Friday, February 6.
