Ladki Bahin Yojana: Installments could go up to ₹2,100 per month under Mahayuti 2.0? Sudhir Mungantiwar says...

The Mahayuti 2.0 government is likely to increase the amount of monthly installments paid to women aged 21 to 65 from the existing ₹1,500 per month to ₹2,100 per month. Senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and outgoing state minister Sudhir Mungantiwar said a decision in this regard would be taken in the cabinet meeting of the new government. 

"The decision to increase the amount to ₹2,100 per month would be taken in cabinet meeting of the new government. It is the cabinet's prerogative to decide how and when to increase the amount," said Mungantiwar.

Mungantiwar's comment is in keeping with caretaker Chief Minister Eknath Shinde's commitment to the voters.

During the the run up to the Maharashtra elections, Shinde announced that the monthly aid under the Ladki Bahin scheme would be increased from ₹1,500 to ₹2,100 for women coming from families with an annual income of less than ₹2.5 lakh. 

The scheme aims to aid women aged between 21 and 65 years facing financial difficulties. From July-October, the state government successfully disbursed ₹7,500 each to around 2.4 crore beneficiaries. The massive popularity of the scheme among female voters prompted the Mahayuti to commit to raising the allocation to ₹2,100 per month in its manifesto. 

Mahayuti's flagship Ladki Bahin Yojana, modelled after the Ladli Behna scheme in Madhya Pradesh, was a gamechanger for the BJP in the state assembly elections.

As per global head of equity strategy at Jefferies Christopher Wood, "Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP's) victory in the Maharashtra assembly elections was a surprise outcome that was mostly made possible due to an extremely popular cash handout scheme for women, subject to income levels'. "

NCP(SP) chief Sharad Pawar suggested that apart from religious polarisation, the scheme and the increase in women voter turnout could have influenced the Mahayuti's success. 

In the recently conducted state assembly elections, the Mahayuti won a thumping majority at 230 of the total 288 assembly seats.

The BJP emerged as the single largest party as it won 132 of the 149 seats it contested. The Shiv Sena and the NCP secured 57 and 41 seats, respectively. The Ladki Bahin scheme did wonders for the Mahayuti as the female voter turnout saw an increase of 5.95 per cent. 

In the 2024 assembly elections, 65.21 per cent women exercised their right to franchise as against 59.26 per cent in the 2019 polls.