At Nawapada, a tribal settlement in Navapur taluka of Maharashtra’s Nandurbar district, a group of women gather to talk about the state government’s flagship Ladki Bahin scheme. But ask them who facilitated the money, and they look around confused. Just then, a woman pipes up from a house in one of the alleys — “I know… Eknath Shinde, the one with the beard and red tika.” As Maharashtra heads into a close election, with a jumble of parties and alliances in the fray, both the ruling and Opposition alliances have been aggressively trying to outdo each other with a string of schemes targeting women. While the Mahayuti (BJP, Shinde Sena and NCP) has promised to increase the monthly assistance to women under the Ladki Bahin Yojana from Rs 1,500 to Rs 2,100 and induct 25,000 women police personnel, the Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (Shiv Sena UBT, NCP-Sharad Pawar and Congress) has promised women Rs 3,000 a month under the Mahalakshmi scheme and free transportation in government buses. But if the ruling alliance fancies its chances, it’s in large part due to Ladki Bahin, a scheme with a monthly budget of Rs 3,500 crore that it has managed to push through right before the elections. As per Chief Minister Shinde’s announcement on October 9, at least 2.26 crore women have benefited from the scheme. The scheme provides Rs 1,500 a month to women residents of Maharashtra who are between the ages of 21 to 65 years and whose annual family income is less than Rs 2.5 lakh. The Indian Express travelled to Nandurbar and Sindhudurg, districts separated by nearly 800 km, to see the impact of the scheme on its intended beneficiaries. Nandurbar, a tribal district, is among Maharashtra’s poorest, while the relatively prosperous Sindhudurg, along the Konkan coast, is among four districts in the state with more women voters than men. While Nandurbar has traditionally been a Congress bastion, the BJP has been making inroads, winning two of the four Assembly seats in the last election. Sindhudurg is considered a Narayan Rane turf, but this time, is likely to witness a contest between the two Shiv Sena factions. The Ladki Bahin scheme has taken off in both the districts, with an overwhelming number of the applicants — 97% in Nandurbar and 96% in Sindhudurg — getting the money in their accounts. ‘Small amount, big difference’ As with all such cash transfer schemes targeting women, Ladki Bahin has put money in the hands of women, helping them exercise their financial agency when and where it matters most. Nilima Walvi, 36, a daily wage labourer from Palipada tribal settlement in Nandurbar’s Navapur, says that in August, she spent the money she received from the scheme on her eight-year-old daughter Devashree’s treatment at a private hospital. The Class 3 student studies at a nearby ashramshaala (a residential school for tribal students). “For almost three days, the school staff kept giving her paracetamol but the fever didn’t come down and she was extremely weak. We got scared so we rushed her to a private hospital. Rs 1,500 a month may not be a big amount. But it really does make a difference in situations like these,” says Nilima. In Sindhudurg’s Sangave village, Paskin Dsouza, 48, who works as a domestic help, had to pay Rs 100 to fill the Ladki Bahin form at a private centre and has to spend Rs 20 on the bus ticket to Arkula every time she goes to her bank to withdraw the money, but is glad she has the money. “My husband is a daily-wage labourer and doesn’t get any work on most days. My elder son Motes used to work in a hotel in Goa, but he died, and now we are struggling to survive. My younger son is in Class 12 and my daughter is married. How can I not vote for the government that helped me when I needed it the most,” she says. A few km away, in Sindhudurg’s Pushpawadi village, Suvarnalata Pawar, 62, is a cancer survivor. In 2021, when she had a relapse, she was referred to Mumbai’s Tata Memorial Hospital but it during the pandemic and the hospital only took in patients who were critical. Her husband is a bus driver and her sons — one in Mumbai and the other in Kolhapur — have salaried jobs. “We had to go to a private hospital in Kolhapur and my sons had to take loans for my treatment. When I got this money, I helped them with one instalment of the loan. I am so grateful for this,” says Suvarnalata, looking skywards with folded hands. Elsewhere in the district, in Walawal village in Kudal taluka, 60-year-old Sneha Walawalkar, whose husband died early, says she is not dependent on the money since her children are well-settled and support her. “But this money comes to my account and I can use it the way I want. It’s my money,” she says, beaming. ‘What if it is stopped after the polls?’ But if the huddle at the Nawapada settlement in Nandurbar is any indication, the popularity of the scheme is tinged with scepticism about whether the money will continue after the polls. “If the same people come back to power, we will continue to get this money,” says Sakhubai Gavit, in her late 40s, whose family members work as farm labourers. “What is the guarantee?” asks Suma Gavit, in her 50s, another in the group. Both agree they are fortunate to get the money while the scheme lasts because “nobody really knows what will happen after the elections”. “While these (Mahayuti) people are saying they will double the money after being re-elected, others (Congress) are promising an even larger amount. But what is the point of this money if food and medicines continue to be so costly?,” says Sakhubai. It doesn’t help that for a scheme that’s identified with CM Eknath Shinde, his Sena faction has only one candidate (in Akkalkuwa) in the four Assembly seats that make up Nandurbar district; the rest are with the Sena’s Mahayuti partners. When asked about the scheme, a woman who is part of a group sitting outside a ration shop in Dhekwad village of Nandurbar says, “I got the money, but don’t know which party gave it. We have always voted for the punja (Congress symbol).” Another woman in the group manages to say “Shinde sarkar gave the money”, but isn’t aware if her constituency has a candidate from the party. The ration shop owner, who didn’t want to be named, says, “Almost all women who are eligible have got the money in our district. But the question is, how many of them know who sent this money? Even though they may know that the Shinde government sent it, Shinde does not have any candidate here (in Navapur). Then the question is, even if they want to thank the Mahayuti for this gift, do they know who the alliance candidate is?” Geeta Padvi, an anganwadi sevika who helped 167 women from Nandurbar’s Dhekwad village to fill forms for Ladki Bahin, says, “Women know where the money has come from and it has helped a lot of them. Many could even be willing to vote for this government hoping that the money will continue, but since there is no direct connection between the candidates and the CM, they are likely to get confused.” However, Bharat Gavit, NCP (Ajit Pawar), the candidate contesting from Navapur constituency in Nandurbar, is hopeful that he can make the most of the goodwill generated by the scheme. His team has made videos of women talking about benefits of the scheme which are being circulated on social media as a part of the campaign. “I did not realise what a great impact the scheme had made until some of the beneficiaries came up to me during my campaign and spoke about it,” said Gavit, who is contesting against two-time sitting MLA from the Congress, Shirish Naik. Unlike in Nandurbar, in Sindhudurg, there is much more clarity about the source of the scheme. Bhagyashree Raut and Sheetal Parab are co-workers at a cashew sorting factory in Mangaon, each earning Rs 170 a day. While they, like the women in Nandurbar, are sceptical of the future of the scheme after the elections, they are glad to have got the money in their hands. “At least this CM kept his word and gave us money,” says Bhagayshree, 50, who says the money came in handy for the treatment of her husband Bhaskar, who was diagnosed with a lump on his tongue. Sheetal, 35, mother of two school-going children whose husband hasn’t recovered since falling ill during the pandemic, says, “I have to earn for the entire family and this money is very useful. Others are promising another scheme with double the amount, but my vote will go to the one who gave the money instead of the one who has only spoken of it so far.” Sitting BJP MLA Nitesh Rane from Kankavli constituency of Sindhudurg district calls it a groundbreaking scheme. “This is a women-oriented district with the highest women voters. This election, history will be written by women voters,” he said. Disagreeing with the scheme’s impact, Sandesh Parkar, Rane’s opponent from Shiv Sena (UBT), says people want long-pending development of areas and not money. “Voters here are looking forward to days when they do not have to migrate for jobs, their children get higher education nearby and nobody has to rush to Goa or Ratnagiri for critical medical care, which is currently inadequate. The MVA government is assuring all this and much more, including Rs 3,000 per month to women under the Mahalakshmi scheme.” ‘Dreams won’t come true with Rs 1,500’ But what’s undeniable is that Lakdi Bahin, like with every such financial empowerment scheme targeting women, has raised their expectations. In Sindhudurg’s Pednekarwadi village, part of Kudal taluka, Akshata Parab, a 38-year-old single mother is grateful for the money that has come her way, but wonders if that’s enough to guarantee a better life for her teenage daughter. Akshata, who recently separated from her husband who “drank too much”, works as a farm labourer for six months of the rice-farming season and at a small spice-manufacturing unit for the remaining six months for Rs 170 a day. “Aarya is good at studies, she always scores 90 per cent and above. I want her to study as much as she wants and establish herself before she is married. But all those dreams are not going to come true with just Rs 1,500 a month. I instead wish the government had more avenues for me to earn well, scholarships for my daughter etc.,” she says.
