With the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation or BMC elections round the corner, political parties are sharpening their electoral strategies, with the state's flagship Ladki-Bahin scheme making headlines over who gets credit for the scheme.
Both Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde have commented on the scheme, which has been interpreted as a 'credit' war.
"As long as your 'Deva Bhau' (Brother Deva) is the Chief Minister, no one can stop the money for the 'Laadli Behna' scheme... it will keep coming," Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said at a rally.
"We started the Laadli Behna Yojana and provided Rs 1,500 as financial assistance to our sisters. After we won the election with your blessings, the opposition claimed that we would stop this scheme. But I want to tell you that our government recently completed one year, and the scheme is continuing," he added.
Meanwhile, Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has also claimed credit for the scheme, saying it began during his tenure as the chief minister.
"The Laadli Bahin Scheme was launched when I was chief minister. I was the chief minister, and with both deputy chief ministers, we launched the scheme as a team," Shinde said.
On being asked who the women will vote for this time, he said, "I also know the obstacles the scheme faced. But we decided to continue it. No matter what anyone says, the Laadli Bahin Scheme will not be discontinued. Our sisters will take appropriate decisions."
Criticising the government and accusing it of launching the scheme ahead of assembly elections to influence voters, Congress Leader Vijay Wadettiwar said, "Earlier, there was no transparency in the scheme. The government is now imposing arbitrary conditions. The scheme will likely be discontinued after municipal and district council elections. No matter what ministers say, the scheme will be stopped."
The "Mukhyamantri Majhi Ladki Bahin Yojana" is a welfare initiative by the Government of Maharashtra, designed to provide financial assistance to women from economically weaker sections. Eligible women receive Rs 1,500 per month through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) into their Aadhaar-linked bank accounts.
The scheme has also acted as an electoral dividend, as women voters have been in favour of the ruling party after the rollout of the scheme.
