The Mahayuti alliance partners in Maharashtra, comprising the Shiv Sena (Eknath Shinde faction), Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and the Nationalist Congress Party or NCP (Ajit Pawar faction), found themselves in an embarrassing position after two of their members threatened to take back the ₹1,500 per month to be provided under the recently announced ‘Mukhya Mantri Majhi Ladki Bahin Yojana’for women by the State government, if they weren’t voted to power in the upcoming Assembly election. This drew sharp criticism from the Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi or MVA alliance, comprising the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray or UBT faction), Congress, and the NCP (Sharad Pawar or SP faction).
In the State Budget presented in July, the government promised ₹1,500 per month transferred directly to women in the 21-65 years age group with an annual family income of less than ₹2.5 lakh, in a scheme that mirrors what is offered by the BJP government in Madhya Pradesh, which is said to have contributed to the party’s re-election to that State Assembly the 2023 election.
At a public event in Amravati, independent MLA Ravi Rana warned that the monthly disbursement would be taken back if he was not re-elected in the upcoming Assembly election. Mr. Rana represents the Badnera Assembly seat. His wife, actress-turned-politician Navneet Kaur Rana of the BJP, failed to retain her Amravati Lok Sabha seat in the recently concluded General Election.
Similarly, in a widely shared video, Shiv Sena (Shinde faction) MLA Mahesh Shinde from the Koregaon Assembly seat, is heard saying, “Let December come by, we will get your name deleted in December,” in a reference to the direct benefit scheme.
The Opposition was quick to respond, reiterating the State government’s scheme was only a poll gimmick. At Madha, NCP(SP) working president and Baramati MP Supriya Sule had video clips of both comments played for the audience. “Let me tell such brothers of Maharashtra — I dare you to take that money back. Such low level politics is played in a civilised Maharashtra, and hence the need to topple the current government. They aren’t paying this welfare money from their own pockets. It is the taxpayers’ money, including the farmers who pay GST on the goods bought for farming…We should thank the outcome of the Lok Sabha election. That is when they felt the need for this scheme — until then, they did not think of it,” Ms. Sule said.
On Tuesday evening, launching the Mukhya Mantri Majhi Ladki Bahin Yojana at Jalgaon, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, and Deputy Chief Ministers Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar issued clarifications.
Mr. Ajit Pawar said the money would not be taken back after the election, and those making such threatening comments would be pulled up. Mr. Fadnavis said those who criticised the scheme were “stepbrothers”. “We are your real brothers…there are those who are saying in jest that money will be taken back. Let me tell them that, you fools, in our country brotherhood is never taken back and the scheme will not be discontinued,” he said.
