MP Election Results: Chouhan hails ‘Ladli Behnas’ as BJP’s focus on women voters pays dividends

Madhya Pradesh CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan

The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is set to remain in power in Madhya Pradesh, and the state's women voters are considered to have played a key role in allowing the party to offset the anti-incumbency factor.

The Shivraj Singh Chouhan-led government's focus on women-centric policies has paid electoral dividends, analysts said, particularly pointing towards the rollout of the 'Ladli Behna' scheme earlier this year.

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As per the scheme, women of low-income households are eligible for a monthly government aid of Rs 1,250 per month.

Chouhan, who is currently in his fourth term as the Chief Minister, told reporters in Bhopal that "the schemes such as Ladli Behna and Ladli Laxmi have touched people's hearts in Madhya Pradesh".

The statement came shortly after the counting trends showed the BJP ahead in over 150 out of the state's 230 seats, whereas, the opposition Congress was leading in only 70. The counting of votes was still underway, but the lead taken by the saffron party was unassailable.

While the Ladli Behna scheme was launched in this financial year, the Ladli Laxmi - another flagship scheme of Chouhan - was launched by his government in 2007. The policy mandates monetary assistance from the state for the education of girl child.

For the Ladli Behna scheme, which was announced in January and implemented in the first half of the ongoing fiscal, the BJP government had earmarked a total of Rs 8,000 crore in the FY24 budget. It benefits women aged between 23 and 60, who do not pay income tax and their household income adds up to less than Rs 2.5 lakh per annum. The BJP has promised to gradually increase the monthly aid to Rs 3,000 from Rs 1,250 at present, depending on the state's finances.

Notably, women account for 2.7 crore out of the total 5.6 crore voters in Madhya Pradesh. In the voting held on November 17, the overall turnout among female voters stood at 76 percent, higher as compared to 74 percent in 2018.