A central minister from Bihar has come up with a noble idea - books -to winthehearts of rural voters, as the Assembly elections approach the state later this year.

Rashtriya Lok Samata Party chief and junior minister in theUnion human resource development ministry, Upendra Kushwaha,hasproposedopening readers' clubsthat willserve as mini librariesin all panchayatsacrossthe state.

'The idea is to inculcate the habit of reading good booksamongvillage youths and students. It is still inaplanning stage but we want to get it on the ground as early as possible,' said a close aide of the minister in the HRD ministry. Anofficial said the scheme would notcost much,as the readers' clubs would primarily make available'good books,' published by National Book Trust (NBT), which are inexpensive.

'Hundredsof NBT books authored andcompiledby distinguishedwriters are available in the market at affordable rates.We may alsoask people to donatebooks tothese clubs,' he added.

The NBT, under the HRD ministry,specialises in publishing books for children and neo-literates. The scheme would require asmall portion of a panchayat or any other community buildingto be used in running these mini libraries. 'Unemploymentis a major problemin Bihar,and even literate and educated youths loiter doing nothing and gossiping,' said the minister's aide: 'So why notencourage themto do something more meaningful, especially when it can be done without spending too much money from the government exchequer?'

The funds requiredforthe scheme is yet to beestimated but given that the state has over 8,000 panchayats, theproject is expected torequirea few crores. 'Thiswillbe a small scheme, so I don't think cabinet minister Smriti Irani should have any problem withit,' Kushwaha's aidesaid.

Kushwaha, an NDA partner who was formerly attached with Nitish Kumar's JDU, before floating his own party, has been trying to position himself as an OBC leader in the state.

Since hisparty won three out of the three parliamentary seats it contested from in the Lok Sabha election last year, Kushwaha has been trying topreparecadres at the grassroots and establish mass contact with people as the state braces for the polls in October-November 2015. BJP insiders close to Union BJP ministers from thestatehintedthat his growing popularityinruralBiharwasthe reason behind whyhe was taken out of the rural development,water supply and sanitation ministry duringthelast shufflein the Narendra Modi government.

'His portfolios allowed him to visit spots to reviewtheimplementationof several schemes and we noticed that he was concentrating mostly on Bihar,' said a BJP leaderfamiliar withthe state affairs.

'Butitlooks like in the HRD ministry, too, he is manoeuvring ways to make the poll pitch and make a name for himself,' he added.