The Election Commission announced assembly elections in Maharashtra and Jharkhand. In these two states the main contest will be between two alliances. In Maharashtra, the BJP-led NDA government, which is called Mahayuti, has to face anti-incumbency, while in Jharkhand, the JMM-led ‘India’ block faces the challenge of anti-incumbency. Many issues will be raised from both sides. But the most interest will be in those two schemes on the basis of which both the alliances are contesting the elections. In every state where this scheme has been tried before, it has been successful. Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh are examples of this. Now its examination is in Maharashtra and Jharkhand. This scheme is to give cash money to women.
Eknath Shinde government of Maharashtra has started ‘Majhi Ladki Bahin Yojana’, under which women are being given one and a half thousand rupees in cash every month. About one crore 90 lakh women have started getting its benefits and the applications of about one and a half crore women are being examined. Similarly, Jharkhand government has started ‘Maiya Samman Yojana’. Under this, the state government announced to give one thousand rupees to every woman and the money started being transferred. But when BJP announced ‘Gogo Didi Yojana’ and said that if its government is formed then it will give Rs 2100 every month to every woman, then a day before the announcement of elections in Jharkhand government, ‘Maiya Samman Yojana’ was discussed in the cabinet meeting on Monday. ‘Announced to increase the amount to two and a half thousand rupees. So, the issue of giving cash to women is going to be the main issue of elections in both the states of Maharashtra and Jharkhand. Delhi government is also going to start giving one thousand rupees per month to women soon. There are elections in Delhi in February next year.
However, the scheme of giving cash to women has been successful everywhere. There is not a single exception to this. Wherever the government gave cash to women or the opposition parties promised to give cash, it was successful. Madhya Pradesh is an example, where the then government of Shivraj Singh Chouhan started ‘Laadli Brahmin Yojana’ and there, dashing all the hopes of Congress, it secured a huge majority for BJP. Similarly, in Chhattisgarh, the then opposition BJP announced ‘Mahatari Vandan Yojana’ and started getting women to fill forms for it. The result there too was shocking. Congress was confident of victory but BJP won. Before that, Congress Party had contested elections in Karnataka by announcing ‘Griha Lakshmi Yojana’ and formed the government there by defeating BJP. That is why it is believed that instead of giving cash to any other group, depositing cash in women’s accounts or promising to deposit money is proving to be more effective electorally.