Almost four-and-a-half years after coming to energy in Punjab, the Aam Aadmi Social gathering (AAP)-led Bhagwant Mann authorities is about to launch its flagship financial support scheme for ladies, Mawan Dhyan Satkar Yojana, on July 1. The plan was AAP’s “largest assurance” the get together gave throughout its marketing campaign for the February 2022 meeting elections.
Underneath the scheme, girls within the basic class will obtain Rs 1,000 per 30 days and people belonging to Scheduled Castes (SC) will obtain Rs 1,500 per 30 days. The AAP initially promised to offer these advantages to all eligible girls over the age of 18, no matter revenue, however the remaining program excludes revenue tax payers, authorities employees, and pensioners. Nevertheless, this quantity additionally consists of girls who obtain solely a small quantity of social safety pensions, reminiscent of widow’s pensions or old-age pensions.
Chief Minister Mann mentioned round 97% of girls voters in Punjab will profit from this programme. In line with the 2022 polls, girls accounted for 1.02 billion or 47.45% of the voters in Punjab out of a complete citizens of two.15 billion. Subsequently, it’s estimated that near 9.8 million girls will profit from the Mawang Dhyan Satkar scheme.
Nevertheless, solely about 39 million girls had accomplished registration as beneficiaries of the scheme by June 28. Within the 2026-27 funds, the AAP authorities has allotted Rs 9,300 crore for the scheme. Mr Mann additionally introduced that beneficiaries will obtain three months’ price of funds in a single lump sum in July, protecting April to June.
AAP play
Girls collect in giant numbers at Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Manjab’s public packages held throughout Punjab (high-speed picture)
The timing of the launch of this plan is politically vital because the Punjab Meeting elections are simply eight months away. Welfare insurance policies for ladies have gotten a central a part of the state’s electoral technique throughout get together strains. The rationale lies not solely in welfare politics but additionally in altering voting patterns throughout the state.
Feminine voter participation in elections continues to extend, with girls voting at a better price than males prior to now few parliamentary elections.
Whereas total voter turnout in Punjab has steadily declined over the previous three parliamentary elections, from 78.62% in 2012 to 77.36% in 2017 and 71.95% in 2022, feminine voter turnout has constantly been larger than male turnout.
Within the 2012 parliamentary elections, the proportion of feminine voters was 79.43% in comparison with 77.92% of male voters out of an total turnout of 78.62%. Within the 2017 parliamentary polls, out of a complete turnout of 77.36%, 79.33% of feminine voters exercised their proper to vote, in comparison with 75.63% of males. Within the 2022 ballot, total turnout declined to 71.95%, however girls’s turnout was 74.25% in comparison with 69.65% for males.
The variety of voters in Punjab elevated from 1.76 billion in 2012 to 2.15 billion in 2022. Throughout the identical interval, the proportion of feminine voters elevated from 46.76% to 47.45%, whereas the proportion of male voters decreased from 53.24% to 52.55%.
The feminine think about public opinion polls
Girls attend a public assist occasion with Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann as Punjab prepares to launch an financial support scheme for ladies. (Specific picture)
Contemplating the more and more vital position of girls voters in figuring out the end result of varied elections, successive governments led by totally different political events have designed and applied totally different girls’s schemes.
The AAP authorities lately introduced to construct 5 girls’s hostels in Mohali, Jalandhar and Amritsar at a value of Rs 150 million. The hostel may also have childcare amenities for working moms.
On April 1, 2021, the then Congress authorities led by Captain Amarinder Singh launched free bus journey for ladies in authorities buses. The AAP authorities has continued the scheme and declared spending Rs 2,042 crore on the scheme from 2022-23 to 2025-26.
After changing Amarinder on the helm of the federal government simply 5 months forward of the 2022 polls, Congress CM Charanjit Singh Channi introduced a sequence of measures focusing on girls.
The Chani authorities has elevated the month-to-month stipend of greater than 53,000 anganwadi employees, mini-anganwadi employees and helpers, growing the month-to-month stipend for anganwadi employees from Rs 8,100 to Rs 9,500, for mini employees from Rs 5,300 to Rs 6,300 and for helpers from Rs 4,050 to Rs 5,100.
Round 22,000 ASHA employees got a hard and fast allowance of Rs 2,500 per 30 days aside from incentive-based funds, medical insurance of Rs 500,000 and paid maternity go away. The Channi authorities additionally elevated the honorarium of round 42,500 noon meal employees from Rs 2,200 to Rs 3,000, along with offering different incentives.
Nevertheless, within the 2022 elections, AAP gained 92 out of 117 seats within the state, towards 18 seats in Congress.
Other than persevering with the free bus journey scheme for ladies, the AAP recognition additionally carried over the Asirwad scheme of the Congress authorities. Underneath the scheme, eligible girls from economically weaker sections, SCs and backward courses might be given a one-time sum of Rs 51,000 as monetary help for marriage.
The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) additionally sought to strengthen its assist base amongst girls voters beneath its coalition authorities with the Bharatiya Janata Social gathering.
In 1997, the then Parkash Singh Badal-led authorities launched the Shagun scheme, which supplied a one-time grant of Rs 5,100 for the wedding of ladies from poor households, which was expanded through the years.
Within the 2022 polls, the SAD promised plenty of insurance policies for ladies, together with 50 per cent illustration for ladies in authorities jobs and elevating widow and previous age pensions from Rs 1,500 to Rs 3,100.
Lately, Akali Dal president Sukhbir Singh Badal promised to extend marriage assist beneath the Shagun scheme to Rs 100,000 if voted to energy.
So within the run-up to the 2027 polls, main candidates are as soon as once more vying to achieve girls voters, who’ve clearly emerged as an important constituency within the state.
