In Maharashtra, Parties Bet On Lady Luck

Political parties of all hues are projecting themselves as saviours of vulnerable women from low-income groups. Zooming past Mumbai’s Western Expressway, one can see large hoardings of the ruling Mahayuti and its rival, the Mahavikas alliance, in succession offering increased bids in exchange for their valuable votes in the upcoming assembly elections.

After the Mahayuti coalition’s Chief Minister Eknath Shinde launched the flagship Majhi Ladki Bahin Yojana (My Beloved Sister scheme), which doled out a monthly allowance of Rs 1,500, the Mahavikas alliance of the Congress, Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) and the NCP (Sharad Pawar) has promised an increased allowance of Rs 3,000 per month to women under the Mahalaxmi Scheme, alongside free transportation in government buses and Mumbai local trains. To counter their rivals, the Mahayuti government in its manifesto has upped its bid for the Ladki Bahin scheme to Rs 2,100 per month.

Will luring women with cash transfers become a game-changer in influencing the election's outcome?

On the eastern edges of Mumbai, in the slum areas of Sewri, Humaira Sherkhan (36), is delighted to have so far received five instalments of Rs 1,500 each under the Beloved Sister scheme. For the mother of three school-going children, the Rs 7,500 in her bank account is a novel experience. “This money has come in my name; I don’t need to share it with my husband or anyone in the family. I can decide what to do with it. Yeh mere hak ka paisa hai,” says Sherkhan, who works at her husband’s travel agency. She wants to save the money for a rainy day, a modest financial decision that 64 per cent of Indian women never get the opportunity to make as only 36 per cent of Indian women hold bank accounts.

Keenly aware that the government unveiled the Ladki Bahin scheme to attract women voters with an eye on the assembly elections, Sherkhan says that female voters cannot be faulted for taking advantage of the scheme and voting for Shinde’s Shiv Sena.

“For many families, Rs 1,500 can make a huge difference. At least the government is thinking about us and helping with monthly cash to improve our financial situation. I will certainly vote for Shinde Sena,” she explains. As per the last census, nearly 60 per cent of India lives on less than Rs 260 a day, which is the World Bank’s median poverty line. Rs 1,500 in three installments, or Rs 4,500, is enough to cover half a month’s expenses.

The Ladki Bahin Yojana has undoubtedly become a dominant feature in the Mahayuti’s manifesto. The unconditional provision of Rs 1,500 under this scheme for female citizens between the ages of 21 and 65, with an annual family income of Rs 2.5 lakh, has turned out to be a win-win move for the Mahayuti government. Around 2.5 lakh applications have been approved under the scheme since June when it was announced in the state’s budget. The deadline for enrollment was extended twice and beneficiaries were paid in advance for October and November

The MVA has not yet declared the conditions to avail of benefits under the proposed Mahalaxmi scheme, which will be worked out if it secures victory. However, Congress leaders say that the age and income limits would be drafted to benefit women from low socio-economic groups.

The six parties have focused all their might behind the state’s 4.44 million women voters to win the maximum vote share. Maharashtra has seen a significant rise in the number of female voters; However, when it comes to casting their votes, women lag behind male voters. In the Lok Sabha elections, around 59 per cent of the women electors, 2.63 crore of 4.46 crore, cast their vote. In comparison, a total of 3.06 crore men out of a total of 4.83 crore men cast their votes, making up for 63 per cent of the male vote share.

Gender-centric schemes could very well turn out to be a game changer to encourage female voters.

Besides the Ladki Bahin scheme, the government rolled out the Mukhyamantri Annapurna Yojana, which provides three free LPG cylinders annually for a family of five, household utensils worth Rs 10,000 for 50,000 domestic workers, and funds for women entrepreneurs under prime minister’s special scheme.

While the Opposition accused the government of bribing female voters with the state’s fund, Shinde vowed to increase the monthly allowance to Rs 3,000 if women voters bring his government back to power.

“The money disbursed to women is their rightful allowance. Government funds are meant to be used for the people and we are doing exactly that,” Jyoti Waghmare, Shiv Sena spokesperson, said. “CM Shinde’s government is genuinely invested in the welfare of our sisters and mothers. Even before the Assembly polls, we announced schemes for women and farmers. We will win the election on the merit of our work.”

The Ladki Bahin scheme, with an annual budgetary allocation of Rs 46,000 crore, will be an additional expenditure for the cash-strapped government which racked up a debt of Rs 7.8 lakh crore for the financial year 2024-25. Moreover, the government has allocated Rs 270 crores for a media publicity campaign featuring CM Shinde on hoardings, banners, outdoor advertisements, and TV and news ads for introducing the Ladki Bahin and the Annapurna Yojana.

While the Opposition alleges that the government has launched an election ploy to "buy" the votes of women, the Mahayuti coalition also received criticism from its own. Senior BJP leader and Union Minister Nitin Gadkari claimed that the promotion of the Ladki Bahin scheme has suspended funding and subsidies in other government schemes in other sectors. He also reproached the government for bringing in such a scheme when the government lacks funds in its budget.

Waghmare dismissed concerns about the fiscal deficit, saying that governments are not meant to earn profit but to improve the lives of their citizens.

Maharashtra is not the only state whose government is trying to attract goodwill of the voters with gender-friendly schemes. The Ladli Bahin Yojana is modelled after Madhya Pradesh’s Ladli Behna and the Ladli Lakshmi Yojana launched in 2023 by BJP leader and former Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan.

The BJP-ruled states in turn appear to have taken the idea from non-BJP states like West Bengal where CM Mamata Banerjee introduced the Lakshmir Bhandar scheme in 2021 offering financial assistance to women aged 25 to 60. Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s Gruha Lakshmi scheme, Jharkhand’s Mukhyamantri Maiya Samman Yojana, and Tamil Nadu’s s Kalaignar Magalir Urimai Thittam all have similar bends.

Almost every state has its version of direct benefit transfer (DBT) for women and children. Such schemes are extremely popular and effective for the political parties as a mark of tangible work, and for the female beneficiaries, these are a means of improving their decision-making power in households.

Political parties across the country seem to have recently discovered the untapped potential of female voters. Or, as Dr Soumya Kanti Ghosh, Chief Economic Advisor, State Bank of India notes: “Women are the new centre of gravity in Indian politics.”

Political parties have adapted digital infra-tech, developed in the COVID-19 era to help people transition to the lockdown restrictions, to push for ease of using DBT.

“It is the most gimmicky thing to do without ensuring their meaningful political participation,” says Sunaina Kumar, a research scholar at the Centre for New Economic Diplomacy, New Delhi.

Political parties have focused on women using gender-friendly schemes to gifts and DBTs. In Tamil Nadu, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) pioneered the foundations of a "gender welfare state politics" with schemes targeting socially deprived women. The DMK introduced schemes for poor women, to promote gender equality and inclusivity from marriage to maternity and childcare, medical insurance, distribution of sewing machines, free colour TVs and more.

J. Jayalalithaa went a step further in offering freebies during her 14-year tenure as chief minister. From offering gold for brides, free mobiles, laptops with internet, free electricity for households and a 50 per cent subsidy for women to buy scooters, she carefully nurtured her constituency of women voters. her welfare-driven magnanimity earned her the affectionate moniker of Amma, or mother, who is also a protector of and goddess for Tamil women.

Data shows that cash-based DBT helped women become financially independent. However, questions remain about whether it can lead to meaningful political participation and the long-term sustainability of DBTs. Can political parties aspire to retain power through such gimmicks around election time?

The DBT model has caught on and become popular in several states. In the future, it will compel Opposition parties to continue such schemes if they come to power. However, experts say that it will take more than cash allowances to ensure true political empowerment of women— increased nomination of women in elections and government positions is one substantial measure to adopt.

The two alliances in Maharashtra have nominated a total of 55 female candidates in the 288-seat assembly legislature. The Mahayuti has fielded 26 women candidates, while the Mahavikas has given tickets to 29 women candidates. For all its emotional appeal to "beloved sisters", Shiv Sena Shinde faction has nominated only 6 women.

At the end, no political party wants to influence the electoral outcome by offering maximum tickets to the 'beloved sisters'.