NEW DELHI: Yet another election … yet another women-centric welfare scheme. With cash-in-account schemes proving to be gamechangers for political parties in some states, AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday announced the launch of the “Mukhya Mantri Mahila Samman Yojna” under which a monthly assistance of Rs 1,000 will be given to women in Delhi. The former Delhi chief minister also promised that this amount would be raised to Rs 2,100 after the assembly elections early next year.
Soon after the public announcement, Delhi chief minister Atishi called it “Kejriwal’s guarantee” and congratulated the city residents. “Arvind Kejriwal had promised to give a monthly honorarium of Rs 1000 to every woman in Delhi. Today the Delhi government fulfilled this promise. Now Arvind Kejriwal has promised that if his government is formed again, every woman in Delhi will be given an honorarium of Rs 2100 every month. This is Kejriwal’s guarantee. It is sure to be fulfilled,” wrote Atishi on X.
With assembly elections couple of months away, Kejriwal is going all out for a hat-trick of victories in Delhi. The AAP chief seems to have been inspired by the contribution of women-centric schemes in the recent electoral success of BJP-led Mahayuti in Maharashtra and the JMM-Congress government in Jharkhand. Several post poll analyses claimed that women voters played a significant role in the victories of the ruling coalitions in the two states.
In Maharashtra, the ruling Mahayuti of BJP, Shiv Sena and NCP launched the Mukhyamantri Majhi Ladki Bahin Yojana for women in June after suffering a drubbing in Lok Sabha elections. The welfare initiative played a key role in wooing women voters and helped the coalition register a sweeping victory over opposition’s Maha Vikas Aghadi, which failed to capitalise on its Lok Sabha gains.
In Jharkhand, chief minister Hemant Soren went to the 2024 assembly polls with its Maiya Samman Yojna giving Rs 1,000 monthly assistance to women aged 18–50. The JMM-Congress government launched the scheme in August and ahead of the assembly elections Soren promised to increase the benefit to Rs 2,500. Analysts say the scheme helped the JMM gain widespread support of women in the elections.
Kejriwal, who swept the last two assembly elections in Delhi winning 67 of the 70 seats in 2015 and 62 in 2020, faces a tough challenge this time around. The BJP has kept the pressure on his AAP government and is going all out to deny Kejriwal a third consecutive term. Kejriwal who was arrested in the liquor policy case is at present out on bail. He gave up the top post and installed Atishi as the chief minister promising to return after people of Delhi will give him a clean chit in the 2025 assembly elections.
The Congress, which has failed to open its account in the last two elections, is also gearing up for a spirited challenge against the AAP government. After being snubbed by Kejriwal who said no to alliance, the grand old party will fight a solo battle to try and make the Delhi contest a three-way affair.
AAP, which faced allegations of corruption in the liquor policy case leading to arrest of several of its leaders, would hope that the cash-in-account scheme would help the party get the support of women including those who may have been upset over the controversy surrounding the party.
Several ruling parties have used women-centric cash-in-account schemes to empower women voters and win their political loyalty. Former Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan launched the Ladli Behna Yojana for women months before the state assembly elections in 2023. In Odisha, BJP promised the Subhadra Yojana before the assembly elections. Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Karnataka all have schemes that provide cash incentives to women. The electoral success that comes with such schemes seems to have put the debate around freebies and revadi on the back burner. At least for now.
