Facing anti-incumbency, CM Chouhan banks on women schemes to ride out price rise, jobs storm

Buffeted by factors like anti-incumbency, internal strife and fatigue, the BJP is heavily relying on Chouhan’s perceived popularity among women to help it clinch the polls yet again. On his part, banking on his pet welfare schemes for women, Chouhan still seems to be basking in his “bhai-mamaji” image among women voters despite facing fierce criticism from the Opposition over rising cases of atrocities against women.

In a state like MP, which has 26 million women voters, Chouhan’s success has always been linked to this support base. (Photo: Liz Mathew)

Sources said the Chouhan government is likely to announce more sops, including a reduction in the LPG price, to address the concerns of women in the state in the run-up to the elections.

Interestingly, Chouhan, who became the CM for the first time in 2004, does not seem to be as popular among men as women in the state as many male voters say the state needs a change in its top post. “Chehra badalna hi hai,” said Arvind Mishra, who runs a business in Bhopal. “I love daal-chawal, but it does not mean that I would eat that every day for years,” said Anupam, a government employee.

In a state like MP, which has 26 million women voters, Chouhan’s success has always been linked to this support base. Many women voters in Bhopal and Sehore say that the decision on their vote was entirely theirs.

“We have a special regard for Mukhyamantriji, because he thought about us, the women who do not have work and depend entirely on our husbands for some money,” said Saroj Chaurasia as she sat among other women in an Anganwadi on the outskirts of Bhopal.

“Rs 1,000 per month for a woman is a big thing,” said Sita Prajapati, a resident of Sehore.

Under the Chouhan government’s Mukhyamantri Ladli Behna Yojana, an amount of Rs 1,000 is being sent to the bank accounts of married women aged between 23 and 60 every month for financial empowerment of women. In the second week of July, the government transferred the second tranche of the scheme to 1.25 crore women. This programme along with some similar schemes, including Ladli Lakshmi, is seen as a key to Chouhan’s attempts to retain his support base among the women.

For Saroj and other women at Bhim Nagar Anganwadi, a monthly allowance of Rs 1,000 – which the government has promised to increase regularly – has been a source of joy. “I used it to pay the tuition fee of my daughter,” said Priyanka Chaurasia, who has two children. “I used it to buy vegetables and fruits for my family,” said Bindya Gawade.

A few kilometres away, Gita, who along with several women friends assembled in the Sewa Bharti community hall, used the allowance amount for the care of her daughter, while an Alamnagar resident Razia said she bought her thyroid medicines with it.

A conversation with these women promptly reveals their “real problems” – price rise, especially the cost of the cooking gas – and their concerns about their families and young children. (Photo: Liz Mathew)

At Sehore’s Station Road Anganwadi, Poornima even said she bought a saree with the first Rs 1,000 handout that she received in June.

An official pointed out that if this amount is increased to Rs 1250, its annual burden on the state exchequer would be Rs 15,000 crore per annum.

Besides extending financial support, the schemes launched by Chouhan have “changed the attitude of families and even society towards women”, claimed Saroj Meena, a resident of Sehore. “Earlier girls used to be a burden. Now the families’ approach towards them have changed. The women have become aware too,” she said.

But a conversation with these women promptly reveals their “real problems” – price rise, especially the cost of the cooking gas – and their concerns about their families and young children. “The cooking gas price is too high – we are struggling to run our house with what our husbands earn,” said Sangeeta, a Bhopal resident. She said a household in her area required at least six LPG cylinders a year. “There are no kerosene stoves now, we don’t have space for chulhas and we have to depend on gas cylinders,” she said.

Despite Rs 200 subsidy, an LPG cylinder cost between Rs 1131 and Rs 1187 in the state.

In Sehore, the Bhopal Sugar Industry – set up in 1937 by the then Bhopal Nawab – and a soya factory have been shut for years. This led to many men leaving the villages to seek jobs outside the state.

This programme along with some similar schemes, including Ladli Lakshmi, is seen as a key to Chouhan’s attempts to retain his support base among the women. (Photo: Liz Mathew)

“The government has to do something for the young men. Lot of factories have been shut down in our area, so there is unemployment. The men from our village go to Gujarat to earn livelihood. There should be work for them here,” said a local resident Meena.

“There is joblessness everywhere. The government schemes are certainly good, but we hope there are job opportunities for them. We would rather work and earn our livelihood instead of relying on these schemes,” said Shobha, a resident of Thunakala village.

On his part, speaking to some reporters at his official residence at Bhopal’s Shyamla Hills, Chouhan insisted that his initiatives were not electoral sops but meant to “improve the lives of women, empower them and change the society’s approach towards them”. “The sex ratio in Madhya Pradesh was 1000:912 earlier and everyone wanted boys and there used to be foeticide. The situation was so bad that there were villages where no daughter was born for 14 years. The situation was horrible and it used to disturb me even before my CM days. I had seen the discrimination everywhere including in my own family,” he said, explaining his initiatives for gender equality.

Chouhan said his government has also launched schemes for youths, keeping in mind job opportunities for them. “We will try and fill at least one lakh vacancies in the government jobs immediately and 50,000 more later. Every month we have a day on which at least 2,50,000 to 3,00,00 people would get assistance for self employment. The government takes the guarantee and gives interest subsidies. We have another scheme called ‘seekho kamao’ under which we would give training to the youngsters for various skills. Once they are trained, we would give them Rs 8,000 every month. Basically, I want to give them wings to fly,” he claimed.