Both the ruling BJP and the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) have released manifestos for the upcoming Assembly elections. The key highlights of both are women-centric initiatives.
The BJP has promised to increase financial assistance for women under the Mahayuti government's Ladki Bahin Scheme from Rs 1,500 per month to Rs 2,100 while the MVA has set aside Rs 3,000 for women under the Mahalakshmi Scheme.
The Ladki Bahini scheme, modelled on the successful Ladkhi Behna programme in Madhya Pradesh, was launched just a few months before the elections. The Rs.46,000 crore scheme promises Rs 1,500 monthly to 2.5 crore women, which now the BJP would revise to Rs 2,100.
The launch of the scheme just before the elections had invited criticism from the Opposition but Chief Minister Eknath Shinde rubbished the claim. In an exclusive interview with THE WEEK, Shinde said the government has fully funded the Ladki Bahi Yojana for the next year to ensure that even the coming government can keep these promises.
The BJP has also promised to create 50 lakh "lakpati didis" by 2027 for which one industrial cluster of 500 self-help groups will be created and an initial corpus of Rs 1,000 crore will be provided.
The Mahayuti has also planned to recruit 25,000 women in the police force, another women-friendly welfare scheme.
Other promises in the manifesto include an anti-conversion law which stipulates and provides for stringent action against forced and deceitful conversions and a skill census to ascertain the needs of the industry and upgrade skill training wherever necessary.
The government also focuses on Akshay Anna Yojana wherein low-income families will be provided free food items every month through the Public Distribution System (PDS).
The MVA aims to counter this via the Mahalakshmi scheme, it has also promised free transportation in transportation in government buses across Maharashtra for women. The aim is to ensure that women from the economically poor sections get empowered. The Congress had mooted the flagship 'Mahalakshmi’ scheme promising ₹1 lakh to every year to poor women during the Lok Sabha elections too.
Other guarantees of the MVA include aid of Rs, 4000 as a monthly stipend for youth seeking jobs and an amount of Rs 50,000 each to farmers who repay their loans on time.
They have also replicated the health insurance scheme of Rs 25 lakh started by Ashok Gehlot in Rajasthan which also promises free medicines.
