A group of women doing household chores in a village in Sehore, Madhya Pradesh, cannot help but gush about the two instalments of Rs 1,000 each that have come into their bank accounts since June.
“Nayi sari kharidi hai, kuch bachhon ko le diya…bas ab cylinder bhi sasta ho jaaye (We bought new saris, something for the kids but the cylinder price is still high),” say Anita and Shashi, when asked what they did with the money.
They are talking about Shivraj Singh Chouhan’s new ‘CM Ladli Behna Yojana’, which is being seen as a “game-changer” by the BJP to help it win the assembly elections in the state.
Ask them about Congress leader Kamal Nath’s promise of giving them Rs 1,500 per month if his party comes to power, the women say it is better to believe in the money that has already come to them. But Nath’s promise of giving an LPG cylinder at Rs 500 does entice them.
“The CM should reduce the price of the cylinder, it is at Rs 1,100,” Anita says. A woman selling ‘bhutta’ (corn) on the roadside in Ujjain says she got the money too.
Travelling across the state, News18 found that the BJP is trying to woo every woman in a family. While the daughters are already beneficiaries of the ‘CM Ladli Yojana’ since 2007 – in which they get Rs 1.4 lakh in instalments from the government till they turn adults – the mothers between ages 21 and 60 are now receiving Rs 1,000 per month under the new scheme.
In fact, the older women in the house now complain that they get only Rs 600 per month as pension from the government while their daughters-in-law or daughters get more money.
“We will raise the pension to women to Rs 1,000,” says state BJP chief VD Sharma.
Women from middle-class backgrounds on a boat cruise in Bhopal’s famous lake say they are not beneficiaries of the new scheme but realise that such money is a big deal for poor women who do not earn.
“The fact is that women always have to ask their husbands for money. One’s own money is a source of empowerment,” says Anjali, who lives in Bhopal.
In a village in Budhni, the CM’s constituency, a group of women say their husbands are not seeking the money from them yet. “We have not withdrawn it from the bank account… it is safe there,” says Shashi, rearing her cattle.
An elderly woman, Manorama, complains that she got neither the CM’s money nor pension. A group of young women in Indore say besides the cash doles, women’s safety is also a big issue.
“Even in Indore, it is not that safe to go out alone after 10 pm. This is a marked change in a city that was considered very safe for women,” says Tripti, a young professional.
A Muslim girl, Usma, however counters her saying the BJP does place strong focus on women’s safety. “I work in Indore after coming here from Khandwa. It feels safe and nice to me here,” she says.
For the Congress, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra is their chief mascot to attract women voters as she did in Himachal Pradesh and Karnataka. At a rally in Gwalior last month, she implored women to think about rising prices and the ‘Congress guarantees’. Women supporters at the rally questioned why the BJP did not give out cash doles to women for the last 16 years.
“They thought of this right before the polls because they know they will lose,” says Neeta. Nath says the chief minister launched the scheme because he is “desperate”.
Shivraj still popular?
Another key factor in Madhya Pradesh is whether Shivraj Singh Chouhan is as popular as before, after being in the CM’s chair for over 16 years. Many do complain of fatigue with him, but say he has tried to reinvent himself with a ‘no-nonsense’ image and the bulldozer action that appeals to the BJP’s vote-bank.
“He is a Chouhan, an OBC. That is what matters,” says an elderly man, Mithu Chouhan, in the CM’s ancestral village Jait. Some local residents say they have never seen Nath in their lives – a factor that works against the CM face of the Congress.
Kamal Nath has tried to change that in the last few months with wide-ranging state tours but the recall of Shivraj’s name is much more in villages. He is also batting on the development pitch – the two new Vande Bharat trains in the state from Bhopal to Delhi and Bhopal to Indore, are the showpieces.
“I am not that impressed with Shivraj’s record but I want him to win as I want Narendra Modi-led BJP to continue ruling MP. It is important for the same government to be in power at the Centre and in the state,” says a businessman, KK Pandey, who is travelling on the Vande Bharat from Bhopal to Delhi.
Another passenger on the Vande Bharat, Dhanraj Solanki says Kamal Nath is a strong face in state politics, adding that the state did not witness any development during the long Congress rule. “So all credit to the BJP for bringing development to Madhya Pradesh,” he says.
In the end, the fight in Madhya Pradesh could boil down to these two factors – how the women vote amid cash doles, and if people are already tired of Shivraj Singh Chouhan.
“Shivraj ji is neither tired nor retired… he is on the ground fighting,” says state unit chief VD Sharma. Kamal Nath, however, says people have made up their minds to bid goodbye to Shivraj this December.
The answer lies with the voters.
