Mahayuti Government Launches ₹1,500 Monthly Aid for Women, Promises ₹3,000 if Re-elected
Mahayuti Government Launches ₹1,500 Monthly Aid for Women, Promises ₹3,000 if Re-elected
The Mahayuti government launched the “Mukhyamantri Majhi Ladki Bahin Yojana” on Saturday, modeled after Madhya Pradesh’s “Ladli Behna Yojana.” The scheme offers ₹1,500 per month to married, divorced, and destitute women aged 21 to 60, with a family income cap of ₹2.5 lakh per year. Chief Minister Eknath Shinde hinted that this amount could double to ₹3,000 if the alliance is re-elected, stating, “If you give us the strength, the current amount of ₹1,500 will become ₹2,000. With your support, we can give you more than ₹3,000.”
Deputy Chief Ministers Ajit Pawar and Devendra Fadnavis also participated in the event at Balewadi Stadium in Pune, which saw an attendance of over 15,000 women. So far, 1.8 crore applications have been approved, with over 1.03 crore eligible women receiving ₹3,000 in their bank accounts over the past three days. Fadnavis assured that the stipend would continue until March and could be extended if the Mahayuti retains power.
Facing a challenging assembly election against the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), the Shiv Sena-BJP-NCP coalition hopes this scheme will generate goodwill and become a significant factor in the upcoming elections. Ajit Pawar emphasized, “I made a promise and kept my word. Now it’s up to the voters to decide if they want this scheme for the next five years.”
However, the MVA has criticized the initiative, accusing the state government of attempting to buy votes and calling the ₹1,500 per month allocation inadequate. NCP leader Supriya Sule argued that women in Maharashtra would prefer a minimum support price for their produce over such a scheme, urging the government to focus on addressing more pressing issues.
