By: Express News ServiceAhmedabad | November 17, 2025 08:23 AM IST 5 min readSpeaking on pressure on press and institutions, the author said that there was a buzz in Delhi that Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) convener Arvind Kejriwal was likely to be arrested by the Enforcement Directorate.Journalist and political commentator Neerja Chowdhury is quite certain that revolutionary steps in India are the need of the hour and “if we (as a country) get it right, this century will belong to the women of India.”To back her claim, Chowdhury on Sunday, at the Ahmedabad International Book Festival, referred to the poll promises made in the run-up to the Bihar Assembly elections. “Empowering women through money – though she will use it wisely – is one thing. But making girl education compulsory, increasing the age of marriage from 18 to 21 years – so that families feel they should send girls to schools and colleges rather than making them sit at home – is another. You have to take evolutionary steps now, if we get it right, this century will belong to the women of India,” said Chowdhury, while speaking at a session titled ‘Inside the Corridors of Power: Governance and Choice of India’s Leadership’. A contributing editor with The Indian Express, Chowdhury also drew references from her book How Prime Ministers Decide (2023) during her address.Speaking about the Bihar Assembly elections verdict and the role of women in it, Chowdhury said, “Nitish Kumar is an interesting figure. He has been doing ‘mahila ki rajniti (politics of women) for the last 20 years. In 2005, he gave bicycles to girls so that they can go to schools and gave uniforms to girls because of which the female enrollment increased and drop out declined. After that came the 35 per cent reservation in police force, government jobs, 50 per cent in local bodies, and the prohibition policy. He has maintained credibility among the women.”Chowdhury further emphasised on Kumar’s latest move that worked in favour of most women of Bihar. She said, “Let’s talk about the Nitish module of giving Rs 10,000 to women. Wherever I went (during Bihar polls), women were talking about how she has used the amount. Now she is earning more, she has been able to change how the family looks at her. Though the move is being criticised that the women were bribed through as it was announced just before elections. The criticism has some facts too that it was announced just a few hours or days before polls. In the coming days, every CM is going to do the same – politics of mahila plus money – to fight anti-incumbency. Though he will not commit the mistake of announcing it a few hours before the elections but at least six months in advance, Assam’s CM Himanta Biswa Sarma has already talked about it. You cannot stop women empowerment and her aspirations. You can delay the process, but stopping it is impossible. The party that will take it strongly will go forward.”On the future of political parties such as Arvind Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi Party and new entrant Prashant Kishor’s Jan Suraaj Party, Chowdhury said, “Both the political parties – AAP and Jan Suraaj – occupied a political space that exists, which could have rather been occupied by the Congress, but it failed to do it. Both Kejriwal and Kishor are hardworking. Kishor, whose election strategy made every leader win elections, failed this time due to a variety of reasons. But do not dismiss him in the future. The biggest mistake he committed was he himself didn’t contest, the party needed a commander to lead. He raised the issues of migration, education. Caste and religion should not be important for Bihar.”Talking about her recent, poll-related travel to Bihar and her observations, she said, “This time when I went to Bihar, I had a different assessment of his politics. Behind Nitish Kumar’s politics, there is an attempt to retain relevance. He represents the Kurmi caste which has 2-3 per cent representation in the state. In 2005, Nitish took over as CM and retained the position for 20 years, some time with BJP and some time with the Mahagathbandhan. The reason behind this is that if he would not have created his alliance, the other two major parties would have made an alliance to form the government. Kumar maintained his alliance in such a manner that he kept BJP as well as RJD in check. Whenever he was under pressure of becoming irrelevant, he would jump to the other side and regain his relevance. BJP politics in Bihar is not of Hindutva, Nitish did not let BJP tilt towards politics of Hindutva. It is a different politics due to which he is relevant. Remember, after the victory, the first phrase Prime Minister Narendra Modi used was social justice,” she added.The ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) secured a thumping majority in the Bihar Assembly elections, winning 202 seats in the 243-member House.Stay updated with the latest - Click here to follow us on Instagram© The Indian Express Pvt LtdTags:Bihar Assembly elections