Madhya Pradesh elections: Women prefer work to dole, youth want jobs

Madhya Pradesh goes to the polls on November 17. Counting of votes for all five states is scheduled on December 3.

Panna/Chhatarpur: All five states where elections are taking place this month – Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Mizoram and Telangana – have improved their electoral roll gender ratio since 2018. In Madhya Pradesh, the ratio has risen to 945 now from 917 in the previous assembly elections.

Expectedly, both the national parties in the state – the incumbent Bharatiya Janata Party and challenger Congress – have gone all out to reach out to women voters who make up 27.2 million of the electorate, a tad less than their male counterparts at 28.8 million.

Among the series of women-specific programmes are the popular monthly cash transfer scheme called Laadli Behna Yojana implemented by the BJP government in January and a similar one promised by the Congress in its manifesto called Naari Samman Nidhi.

However, many women voters in the two districts of Panna and Chhatarpur said money under such schemes usually goes towards household expenses and that they would prefer better jobs to ensure a more sustained income.

Added to this mix are about 2.2 million first-time voters who have not seen any chief minister other than Shivraj Singh Chouhan for most of their lives, which is driving sentiment for a change on the ground. While many such young voters in the two districts said they like the work done and the image of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, their support will go to the parties that prioritise job creation and quality higher education.

Madhya Pradesh goes to the polls on November 17. Counting of votes for all five states is scheduled on December 3.

While women voters may hold the key to the election in Madhya Pradesh, first-time voters, albeit in lesser numbers, could play a significant role in the outcome.

Under Ladli Behna Yojana, eligible women get Rs 1,250 a month for their health and nutrition and economic self-reliance.

“Paise se achha rozgar de dete toh thode se hi bahut chal jaata (Instead of money, if they gave us livelihoods then we would have managed with lesser income also),” said Paan Kumari, a daily wage worker who is part of a self-help group (SHG) in Chhatarpur.

She is a beneficiary of Ladli Behna Yojana, but said that most of the money she got went on household expenses. She said a livelihood scheme, preferably a home-based work, would help in generating a steady income.

Women voters said the cost of running a household was increasing and there is “only so much” a cash transfer can help with. Some women voters pointed out that earning money instead of getting money drew more respect from their family and community.

In Panna, Phula Bai Kori, a construction worker, said she was getting an enhanced pension, which was equivalent to the Ladli Behna Yojana.

“Cost of everyday living and food is so high, getting money from a scheme does not suffice. If there was a way to ensure that we get steady work with good wages, that would be of help,” she added.

Both the parties expectedly have promised cheaper cooking gas cylinders, which is a key household expenditure. They have also focused on education-to-marriage financial support schemes for girls with Chouhan’s long-running Ladli Laxmi Yojana and the Congress’ proposed Meri Bitiya Rani Yojana.

Women voters outnumber men in at least 18 of the 230 assembly constituencies of the state, according to the Press Trust of India.

“There is an urban legend in my area that every college gets inaugurated thrice by different people. That is how long it takes to get things done when it comes to issues concerning young people,” said 22-year-old first time voter Sumit Chaturvedi, a post-graduate student from Ganj town near Panna.

Chaturvedi’s ‘first choice always’ is Modi, but he says in the state elections, he is ‘looking for a change’ and will assess which party will provide more jobs and better education facilities.

A recurring theme for young voters, including the first-timers, in the two districts was the lack of jobs and irregularities in recruitments. Recognising that unemployment is a key issue, the BJP has promised one job for every household if voted back to power, while the Congress manifesto promises to ensure ‘only youth of the state’ get priority in government jobs.

A report by Azim Premji University titled State of Working India 2023 released in September showed that graduates in India under 25 years have the highest unemployment rate among all education levels for the same age group.

In Otapurwa village of Chhatarpur district, Surendra Patel, a 21-year-old farm labourer and first-time voter, said he has only seen one chief minister till now. Chouhan has been in the top post since November 2005, except for 15 months when Kamal Nath of the Congress was at the helm in 2018-2020.

“Me and my friends do not know what any other full-term government looks like. The state’s leadership should change. My vote will only be for a party which prioritises jobs for young people so we do not have to go out to search for work,” he added.

Political analysts said job creation is one of the biggest issues, especially in the Panna-Chhatarpur region of Bundelkhand. Kishan Yadav, head of the political science department at Bundelkhand college in Jhansi, said the lack of good job opportunities has left the youth with no choice but to migrate and find work.

“Even those who get elected from this area do not pay attention to the jobs issue. There is a sentiment that a change should come, but one cannot say how much better the Congress can do about such issues,” Yadav said.

However, he added that the Congress is likely to have more gains than the BJP across the six districts of Bundelkhand region.