Ahead of Assembly polls, big sops in Maharashtra Budget: from Rs 1,500 per month for women to 3 free LPG cylinders per year

In the Maharashtra Budget, the Government announced a Rs 10,000 stipend for interns and an electricity bill waiver for 46 lakh farmers.

With an eye on the forthcoming Assembly elections in the state after the setback in the recently concluded Lok Sabha polls, the ruling alliance in Maharashtra on Friday announced a slew of populist measures aimed at garnering votes of women, unemployed youth, farmers, and the poor.

In the Budget presented by Deputy CM and Finance Minister Ajit Pawar, the government announced it will transfer Rs 1,500 into the bank accounts of eligible women in the age group of 21 and 60 every month beginning July 1 under the Mukhyamantri Majhi Ladki Bahin Scheme. It also proposed to offer three LPG cylinders free of cost to a family in a year under the Mukhyamantri Annapurna Yojana, which the Mahayuti government said will benefit over 52 lakh families across the state.

Targeting the unemployed youth in Maharashtra, the government has announced a scheme to provide a monthly stipend of Rs 10,000 to 10 lakh interns under the CM Yuva Karya Prashikshan Scheme. It has also announced to waive agri pump electricity bills for more than 46 lakh farmers of the state.

The government also announced a reduction in fuel prices in Mumbai, Thane, and Navi Mumbai by cutting petrol prices by 65 paise per litre, and that of diesel by Rs 2.07 per litre.

While the Maharashtra Government will incur an expenditure of Rs 46,000 crore on the Mukhyamantri Majhi Ladki Bahin Scheme, it allocated Rs 10,000 crore for the CM Yuva Karya Prashikshan Scheme. The government has allocated Rs 14,761 crore for the electricity bill waiver scheme and it said that the Annapurna scheme will benefit over 52 lakh families across the state.

Besides, the government also announced a grant of Rs 20,000 to each Dindi, a procession of devotees of Lord Vitthal, participating in Pandharpur Ashadhi Ekadashi Vari that culminates in the temple town of Pandharpur. Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde announced it earlier this month, and it also formed part of the state budget.

The announcements come three weeks after the Lok Sabha election results saw the ruling alliance see a significant reduction in its numbers in the state. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) saw the number of its Lok Sabha MPs from the state come down from 23 in 2019 to 9 in 2024, and the ruling alliance’s numbers declined from 42 in 2019 to 17 this year.

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Maharashtra Assembly elections