Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Saturday transferred Rs 1,000 each into the bank accounts of 1.25 crore women in the state — Rs 1209.64 crore in total — under the flagship 'Mukhyamantri Ladli Behna Yojana'. The Chief Minister pressed a button at an event at Garrison Ground in Jabalpur to digitally transfer the first dole of the scheme, under which beneficiaries will receive Rs 1,000 per month. He also announced that he intends to increase the monthly handout to Rs 3,000 in the coming years, which is seen as a counter to former CM and Congress leader Kamal Nath's promise to provide Rs 1,500 to women under the 'Nari Samman Yojana'. The Ladli Behna scheme, which BJP leaders claim is a game changer in the state where Assembly polls are likely to be held this year-end, has been rolled out ahead of Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra's rally in Jabalpur on Monday. Taking a direct aim at Kamal Nath, Chouhan said, “Kamal Nath had stopped a lot of the policies that I had introduced. Our daughters were married off but they were not given money, they stopped giving laptops to our sons and daughters. I started all those schemes again. This (Ladli Behna) scheme has begun with Rs 1,000. I will keep increasing it. then when the time comes, we will make a monthly payment of Rs 3,000 (to each beneficiary).” Kamal Nath has been routinely attacking the Ladli Behna scheme, saying that in 18 years the BJP government in MP did “nothing for women and is remembering ladli behna (dead sister) when elections are near”. “Kamal Nath has also hit out at the CM, calling him an "announcement making machine" and alleging that he is not going to implement any of the promises. CM Chouhan cautioned that the Congress was making false allegations. “There are some people who are making false promises day and night; they are making false allegations against me. The intention of the Congress party is not right. It will not be able to do anything good for you my sisters. You must be wary of these liars. If you want all these policies, you must be with the BJP. You must support your brother (Chouhan) and you must support Modi-ji,” the CM said. Chouhan also announced the formation of Ladli Behna Sena, which will comprise village-level workers who will be enrolled to ensure the smooth implementation of the scheme. “We will not remain poor. We will not cry, we will move ahead. It is my life mission to improve the life of my sisters. I want all my sisters to become lakhpati (millionaire),” the CM said. Chouhan had launched the Ladli Behna Yojana on March 5 this year on the occasion of his 65th birthday and a provision of Rs 8,000 crore was made for it in the budget for 2023-24. Under the scheme, women in 23-60 age group will be given Rs 1,000 per month subject to certain conditions, including that they are not income tax payees and their families' annual income is below Rs 2.5 lakh. Women outnumber male voters in at least 18 of the 230 Assembly seats in MP, including tribal-dominated areas such as Balaghat, Mandla, Dindori, Alirajpur and Jhabua districts. Moreover, the number of new women voters has risen by 2.79 per cent, while it is 2.3 per cent for men, officials said, adding that among 13.39 lakh new voters in the state, 7.07 lakh are women.
