By Newstic Political Desk | September 11, 2025
It’s strange how politics in India can throw up two stories in the same week that, at first glance, seem disconnected. One is about Madhya Pradesh, where numbers on government borrowing look more like a family caught in a credit-card spiral. The other is about Bihar, trudging toward its 2025 Assembly elections but already weighed down by fights over voter lists and who actually gets a say.
Different states, different crises, but a common thread: governance is on trial.
Madhya Pradesh: Borrowing Every Day, But for What?
The figure is shocking when you hear it aloud — ₹154 crore borrowed every single day. That’s the charge hurled by Congress’s Jitu Patwari at the Shivraj Singh Chouhan government. If he’s right, the state’s total debt has ballooned to ₹4.35 lakh crore, up from ₹3.75 lakh crore last year. Do the math and it means every resident is saddled with ₹54,375 of debt — not that anyone ever agreed to it.
The interest bill alone, at nearly ₹29,700 crore annually, could build schools, hospitals, or repair thousands of rural roads. Instead, it goes to service old loans.
Patwari’s blunt remark summed up the worry: “You can’t keep digging holes to fill old ones. Who will repay? Not the leaders — the people.”
This isn’t about numbers on a spreadsheet. For the farmer in Sehore waiting for crop insurance or the teacher in Ujjain paid months late, this debt shapes daily life. Government decisions today in India aren’t abstract — they filter down to ration shops, clinics, classrooms.
Borrowing itself isn’t a crime. Every government borrows. But when the borrowing feels like treading water, citizens start asking if there’s any plan to reach shore.
Bihar: Democracy Gets Tangled in Paperwork
Head east to Bihar, and another storm brews. Elections are due this October–November, and before even a single rally kicks off, the Election Commission has invited controversy with its Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter rolls.
Here’s the kicker: to stay on the list, voters must submit forms validated by one of eleven documents. Aadhaar doesn’t count. Neither does a ration card. Even the voter ID card — ironically — is ruled out.
For migrant workers who spend half the year in Delhi, Surat, or Mumbai, this rule is more than a headache. It could mean their votes simply vanish. And in Bihar, where migration is practically a rite of passage, that’s not a small number.
Critics say it’s bureaucracy dressed up as reform. Sure, accuracy matters. But when rules become so rigid that lakhs of genuine voters risk being dropped, democracy itself takes the hit.
Meanwhile, Congress has chosen a different battlefield. Priyanka Gandhi is expected to take charge of mobilising women voters. In Bihar, women have often turned out in larger numbers than men, and they tend to vote with quiet independence. Political parties have finally realised this isn’t a side issue; it’s the deciding factor.
One party worker in Nalanda put it simply: “When Priyanka speaks, women listen. It isn’t slogans — it feels like she’s talking to us.”
Under ₹3.75 Lakh Crore Debt, MP Govt took ₹10,000 Crore Loan in August.
— Gems (@gemsofbabus_) September 21, 2024
Ladli Behna scheme needs nearly Rs 1,600 crore every month.
As a result, every resident of Madhya Pradesh will find themselves burdened with a debt exceeding ₹50,000. pic.twitter.com/IBxTAOgefQ
Why These Two Stories Matter
India has no shortage of breaking news, but not every headline cuts to the bone of governance. These two do.
- Madhya Pradesh’s debt is not just an economic story. It’s a question of whether leaders are mortgaging tomorrow to survive today.
- Bihar’s voter roll mess isn’t only about paperwork. It’s about whether the poorest citizens are quietly being shoved off the democratic stage.
- And the rise of women as a decisive bloc? That may be the biggest shift in Indian elections 2025 — one political leaders ignore at their peril.
Ground Voices
Ramesh Kumar, a farmer outside Indore, didn’t mince words: “Every year, they announce schemes. But if the state is drowning in loans, what will reach us?”
In Patna, Sunita Devi, whose husband works in Punjab, was more worried: “My name may not be on the list because I don’t have the papers they want. We vote every year. Why change the rules now?”
And in Darbhanga, a young Congress volunteer spoke with quiet conviction: “Women’s votes will decide this election. That’s why Priyanka Gandhi matters.”
These are not polished soundbites. They’re the voices of those living inside the headlines.
The Bigger Picture: Toward 2025
Both Madhya Pradesh and Bihar matter far beyond their borders. Come next year, the country will be neck-deep in Lok Sabha election 2025 updates, and the themes emerging now — fiscal discipline, electoral inclusivity, women’s agency — will dominate the national debate.
If debt spirals, the BJP risks attacks on credibility. If voter lists shrink unfairly, the Election Commission risks losing trust. And if women become the kingmakers in Bihar, every party will be forced to recalibrate strategy nationwide.
Closing Thoughts
Democracy in India often feels noisy, chaotic, even frustrating. Yet it survives because people care. They show up. They argue. They vote.
That’s why Madhya Pradesh’s debt crisis and Bihar’s voter list controversy matter so much. They are not just regional squabbles. They test the very health of governance and the inclusivity of our elections.
What unfolds in the next few months won’t just decide who rules in Bhopal or Patna. It will tell us something deeper about the kind of India heading into 2025 — one where trust in government is either restored or further frayed.
And trust, more than anything else, is the currency no democracy can afford to lose.
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