Political parties go all out to woo women voters as their numbers rise steadily

Political parties in key election states come out have offered various incentives to this voter base.

The turnout of women voters has been steadily increasing with every election, with the women turnout (at 67.18 percent) surpassing that of men (at 67.01 percent) for the first time in the general elections of 2019. The voter turnout had stood at 65.3 percent for women and 67.09 percent for men in 2014.

There has been a significant change in dynamics of female voter participation in India marked by an increased participation of women voters, says election analyst and Professor at Centre for the Study of Developing Societies (CSDS) Sanjay Kumar.

What has driven this change, as per Kumar, is the penetration of social media along with aggressive campaigns by the Election Commission which have made casting of vote a socially desirable behaviour or the ‘in’ thing.

With this, political parties have begun recognising the importance of the vote bank, tailoring their campaigns and policies to appeal to this key electorate to woo them. Nationally, while the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has launched several schemes targeting women, such as the Ujjwala Yojana (providing free LPG connections) and the Beti Bachao Beti Padhao scheme (aimed at improving girls' education), the Indian National Congress (INC) has promised to reserve 33 percent of seats in Parliament for women.

As per Kumar a slight tilt has been noticed in favour of parties which have provided schemes meant for women. “Women are beginning to recognise and to some extent vote for parties who have offered better sops in elections. These are aspirational women with some degree of education who now think they’ve moved ahead socially. They want to get more educated, want to get into the job market, want more benefits and are thus coming out to vote in larger numbers,” he says.

Political parties in key election states have offered various incentives to this voter base.

Chhattisgarh

The state's voter turnout has seen an increase during every state election cycle, rising from 69.2 percent in 2008 to 77.3 percent in 2013 and further to 76.33 percent in 2018.

The Congress has promised Rs 15,000 in their bank accounts annually to all women under the Griha Lakshmi Yojana, if voted back to power. “The government itself will conduct a survey of your homes. Everything will be online and money will come directly into the account. There is no need to stand in line,”,” incumbent CM, Bhupesh Singh Baghel, announced on November 13.

The BJP, on the other hand, has promised women from poor families cooking gas cylinders at Rs 500 each along with a travel allowance for students worth Rs 1,500 per month through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT). The party-led government has also promised to launch the 'Mahtari Vandan Scheme', under which married women will be given financial assistance of Rs 12,000 per year. Taking people of the state on a visit to the Ram temple in Ayodhya is another promise made by the national party.

Rajasthan

With a voter turnout percentage of 74.6 percent in the elections of 2018, slightly below the 2013 numbers of 75.44 percent, the parties are fighting it out on the issue of safety for women.

In its Sankalp Patra, BJP has promised to set up at least one “mahila thana” in every district and a “mahila desk” in every police station. This apart, the party also plans to form anti-romeo squads in every major city of the state while also planning to start a network of "pink buses" and ensure that 33 percent of the total personnel in the police force are women. Free education from kindergarten to post-graduation for girls from economically weak backgrounds, LPG cylinders at Rs 450 and a free Scooty for meritorious Class 12 girls are also promises made to woo their votebank.

If voted to power, a flagship scheme of the BJP would be the Lado Protsahan Yojana which will provide a savings bond of Rs 2 lakh for a girl child - A sum of Rs 6,000 would be given when the girl reaches Class 6, Rs 8,000 in Class 9, Rs 10,000 in Class 10, Rs 12,000 in class 11, Rs 14,000 in class 12, Rs 50,000 in her professional course and Rs 1 lakh when she reaches the age of 21.

There are several parallels between what the BJP is promising and what the Congress seven guarantees have announced, including an annual honorarium of Rs 10,000 to women heads of family.

The Ashok Gehlot government also already runs the Devnarayan Scooty Yojana and Kalibai Bhil Medhavi Chhatra Scooty Yojana for meritorious girl students, schemes they have banked on throughout their campaigning. As for cooking gas cylinders which are already provided at Rs 500 by the Gehlot government, the Congress has promised to increase the number of beneficiaries to 1.05 crore families.

On the security front, the Congress has promised to deploy 500 “Kalika patrolling teams" at public and educational places, set up fast-track courts to deal with cases related to crimes against women and launch the Lakhpati Didi scheme. It also promised free education from kindergarten to post-graduation for girls from poor families. Among other measures, the Congress announced that three Mahila Police Battalions would be formed as part of the Rajasthan Armed Constabulary.

Madhya Pradesh

With the rising women voter base in the state, up from 66 percent in 2008 to 74 percent in 2018, the incumbent BJP government is relying on several women centric schemes it is running.

Under the Ladli Bahna Yojana, the state government provides monthly aid to women at Rs 1,250 per month. Ladli Laxmi Yojana aims at improving the health of women and curb female foeticide and child marriages. “Girls were killed in the womb itself, so we have made the Chief Minister Ladli Laxmi Yojana for girls. Now, 956 girls are born for every 1,000 boys in Madhya Pradesh," Chouhan had said during a campaign last month.

He has also announced plans including a 35 percent reservation for women in government jobs (excluding the forest department) and allocating 50 percent of teaching positions to them.

From September 1, the state government is also making provision of LPG gas cylinders at a subsidised rate of Rs 450 under the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana and the Mukhyamantri Ladli Bahna Yojana.  All consumers under the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana and non-Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana category registered under the Ladli Behna Yojana with gas connections in their names are eligible for the scheme.

The Congress, on the other hand, has made a slew of poll promises to women of the state. If it wins, an aid of Rs 1,500 per month will be provided to women under the Nari Samman Nidhi. The Congress also promised to provide LPG cylinders at Rs 500. The party will provide assistance of Rs 1.01 lakh for weddings. It also promised housing for rural homeless women, and free transportation on metropolitan bus services. If the party comes to power, it promised to launch “Meri Bitiya Rani” in which every daughter born in the state will be given an amount of Rs 2.51 lakh spanning from birth till marriage.

Telangana

The state saw a voter turnout of as much as 73.8 percent in the last assembly elections of 2018. Women in Telangana have been promised benefits worth up to Rs 4,000 if Congress is voted to power in the current assembly polls, by way of social pension, savings on LPG cylinders and free travel in government buses. As per announcements made by the party, a deposit of Rs 2,500 every month will be made as social pension into women's bank accounts along with a free LPG cylinder, which now costs Rs 1,000 and another Rs 1,000 by way of free travel on government buses.

Like the BRS and Congress, the BJP has also made promises regarding LPG cylinders, but unlike them, it has promised instead to give four gas cylinders for free to beneficiaries of the PM Ujjwala scheme.

The BJP has also promised free laptops to undergraduate women students or women entering professional college courses, and a fixed deposit scheme that will allow new-born girls to receive Rs 1 lakh when they turn 18 and another lakh when they turn 21. It did not specify eligibility criteria in the manifesto text.

The incumbent government of the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) has promised a monthly honorarium of Rs 3,000 per eligible woman under Saubhagya Laxmi scheme. A Telangana resident girl, over 18 years of age, belonging to any community with a combined annual income of her parents not exceeding Rs 2 lakh will be eligible for this scheme. The state government has also promised to come up with an exclusive manifesto for women, once it returns to power.