SHINDE'S FREEBIES GAMBIT

WILL IT HELP HIM TURN AROUND THE MAHAYUTI'S DWINDLING FORTUNES?

- Dhaval S. Kulkarni

A Rs 1,500 monthly stipend for women. Three free LPG refills per annum.

Free pilgrimages for senior citizens. Free professional education for women from weaker sections. This is the basket of goodies that the Eknath Shinde-led Maharashtra government has announced for the people. But the motive is not lost on anyone. After a drubbing in this year's Lok Sabha election, where the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) won 31 out of the 48 parliamentary seats in the state, the ruling Mahayuti coalition is pulling out all the stops ahead of the assembly election due later this year.

The government unveiled eight major welfare schemes this year, including in the budget in June, targeting women, the elderly and the youth (see Poll-time Bonanza). The centrepiece is the Mukhyamantri Majhi Ladki Bahin Yojana, offering women from indigent families a monthly dole of Rs 1,500. The Mahayuti regime is banking on this scheme, modelled on the BJP's successful Ladli Behna Yojana in Madhya Pradesh, to counter anti-incumbency and replicate the BJP's political gains in that state.

Shinde asserts that his government intends to continue with the Ladki Bahin and other schemes in perpetuity. "These are permanent schemes and have not been announced with an eye on the elections," he tells INDIA TODAY. "They [the Opposition] are sure that once the money comes into the accounts of the women, their politics will be in trouble. Those born with a golden spoon in their mouth will not understand the importance of Rs 1,500. The women can use this to buy clothes, toys, eatables and for the school fees of their children. Thus, this money will circulate in the economy." The move has ignited competition among rival parties. The Congress has pledged to raise the Ladki Bahin dole to Rs 2,000 per month if elected, while Shinde, seeking re-election, has promised to double it to Rs 3,000.