Maharashtra Polls: Will Mahayuti Get Votes As Return Gift From ‘Ladki Bahins’? Ground Report

The Mukhyamantri Majhi Ladki Bahin scheme, launched by the Maharashtra government under the leadership of chief minister Eknath Shinde, has directly benefitted over two crore women across the state.

According to the government, with its focus on financial empowerment, education, and healthcare, the scheme has not only uplifted women, but also contributed significantly to the state’s socio-economic development.

At its core, the scheme provides targeted financial assistance to women at different stages of life.

Girls born into beneficiary families receive a fixed amount of financial aid to ensure their proper upbringing and education.

This amount is further supplemented at various milestones, such as school enrolment, completing secondary education, and pursuing higher education.

Women from economically weaker sections also receive financial support for self-employment and entrepreneurship.

For rural women, particularly those engaged in agriculture and small businesses, the scheme has proved to be a game-changer.

It provides interest-free loans and subsidies to help them start or expand their ventures.

The ‘Mukhyamantri – Maji Ladki Bahin Yojana’ was inaugurated today by CM @mieknathshinde.

This is a permanent scheme to empower women economically & is a gift from the Govt to the sisters.

Women’s empowerment can make the country a superpower, stated CM @mieknathshinde https://t.

co/1OsfqGigAu — MAHARASHTRA DGIPR (@MahaDGIPR) August 2, 2024 ‘CAN SUPPORT MY HUSBAND’ News18 visited Thane city, the hometown of CM Shinde, to check the impact it has had on women’s lives.

Madhuri Jadhav, 30, works as an assistant in an ‘anganwadi’.

She lives in a small house, approximately 150 sqft, with her family.

She has two daughters, and her husband works in a private bank.

“I was given the responsibility to fill the forms of women for this scheme as I work in an anganwadi.

When I filled my form, I was not confident that financial help would come, and the same was the response of other women whom I asked for their documents.

But just the day before Raksha Bandhan, I received the money along with other eligible women.

I felt really happy.

And then, I decided that I would utilise this money for my daughters.

” Jadhav wants to use this money to teach her daughter self-defence and put teach the other one gymnastics.

She is aware that with this minimal help, which so far all women have received, it is not possible to achieve every dream, but at least they can get closer to their dreams .

In the same vicinity lives Nikita Malekar, a homemaker who has been taking care of her family for 35 years.

Her husband owns a small shop where he does tailoring work.

Malekar, who has received Rs 7,500 so far under this scheme, has used some money for family expenses and invested the remaining amount to purchase a second-hand sewing machine.

“So far, my husband supported me; now, it’s my turn to support him.

With this machine, I do small tailoring works which have helped me earn.

I have a dream to have my own shop where I can take on bigger assignments of tailoring, design, and stitch good clothes.

” Prime Minister @narendramodi honoured the beneficiaries of Mukhyamantri Majhi Ladki Bahin Yojana and handed over the cheques to these beneficiaries, in Thane, #Maharashtra pic.

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com/VKadla3s2e — PIB India (@PIB_India) October 5, 2024 BIG HELP FOR SOME, A JOLT FOR OTHERS Manikkama, a 58-year-old who lives in Dharavi, hopes every day that she will get an SMS informing her that money has been credited to her bank account under the scheme.

But neither she nor her daughters have received it.

“Those who really don’t want that money have got it, but many people like me who want such help badly have not got it,” she said.

Manikkama works as domestic help in two to three houses in the same vicinity and earns Rs 7,000-8,000 monthly.

After the death of her husband 15 years ago, she raised her three daughters and one son all alone.

“People who have money won’t understand the importance of this, and here I am struggling to manage household expenses.

I felt very bad when my neighbours got the money, and I didn’t.

The government shouldn’t do this.

Now, I feel they must have done this keeping elections in mind.

” For women like Shobha Chalke from Pen town in Raigad district, the scheme has proved to be a lifeline.

Diagnosed with breast cancer, she has to travel to Mumbai for follow-up treatment.

Shobha feels this small help takes care of her travelling to Mumbai from her town.

“My son and daughter-in-law have managed to raise Rs 5-6 lakh for my treatment and surgery, but every month when I had to travel to Mumbai, I used to feel bad to ask for money for travelling.

They never said no, but even I am aware of our financial condition.

But now I am using this money for travelling expenses and not putting an additional burden on them.

” Delighted to interact with students, youngsters, beneficiaries of Mukhyamantri Majhi Ladki Bahin Yojana and those Shramiks who built the Metro.

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com/pa2cciFdKv — Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) October 5, 2024 WHY NOW, ASKS OPPOSITION Thane’s Nationalist Congress Party (SP) leader Jitendra Awhad, however, questioned the timing of this scheme.

“Why was this scheme launched after the Lok Sabha election, in which Mahayuti lost seats in Maharashtra? They should have given jobs to these women and helped them stand on their feet in the real sense.

” Mumbai MP Varsha Gaikwad also questioned the intentions.

“We are not against women getting money from the government, but from where are they getting this money? It is the money of other women who are paying taxes.

What about women’s security and safety? Why is this government silent on that issue? What about the 60,000 missing women from the state? Has this government taken efforts to find them? Merely giving this money to women won’t fetch the votes, and the women of Maharashtra have also now become smart and know whom to vote for.

” When we spoke to minister Aditi Tatkare, whose department, Women and Child Development, had initiated this scheme, she said: “The opposition has no counter to such a scheme, which we had implemented on a large scale.

We have given money to more than two crore women via DBT.

Even if you see the promises made by these opposition parties, they are also saying that if they come back to power, they will increase the amount and give it to women which shows how solid this scheme is.

” Launch of ‘Mukhyamantri Majhi Ladki Bahin Yojana’ Phase-2 नवी आश्वासकता आणि विश्वास राज्यातील बहिणींना मिळावा यासाठी हा देवाभाऊ सदैव तत्पर राहील! (माझी लाडकी बहीण योजना मेळावा | नागपूर | 31-8-2024)#Maharashtra #MajhiLadkiBahinYojana #DevaBhau https://t.

co/SeRjCnndON pic.

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com/K4fBn0t1OC — Devendra Fadnavis (@Dev_Fadnavis) September 1, 2024 MORE TO COME: SHINDE Shinde says the scheme is a cornerstone of Maharashtra’s development agenda.

“When we empower women, we empower the entire society.

The Majhi Ladki Bahin scheme is not just a welfare initiative; it is a commitment to the future of Maharashtra,” he recently stated.

His government, Shinde says, will scale it further, with upcoming initiatives such as digital literacy programmes and partnerships with private organisations to boost employment opportunities for women.

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