Don't vote for us if we fail to provide electricity: Nitish Kumar

Bihar chief Minister made an announcement on the Independence Day that will enthrall millions of power-starved in Bihar. Nitish Kumar on Wednesday announced that he will not ask for votes in the 2015 assembly elections in the case of failure of his government to provide electricity to the villages.

"I will not ask people to vote for us in the next state assembly polls if we fail to provide electricity to each village in Bihar by 2015," Kumar said at an official function on the occasion of Independence Day here.

Kumar said that providing electricity to all is the focus of Janata Dal-United -led government. "We have been working seriously on the electricity front to provide it to all in next few years," Nitish Kumar has been quoted as saying.

Elaborating on the subject, Mr Kumar said the state government had already asked its share in an upcoming thermal power plant of the National Thermal Power Corporation in Barh in Patna district. In addition to this, his government has cleared other power projects in the private sector in the state, he stated.

With this promise, Kumar has sent a message of hope to the people, who are still living in the lantern age due to shortage of power in the state.

To meet the Bihar's daily power requirement of 2,500 and 3,000 MW, the state produces merely 100 MW, said a BSEB official, on the condition of anonymity.

The central government gives 1,100-1,200 MW power to the state. Bihar is still facing a deficit of over 1,200 MW, they said.

--with inputs from IANS