Dec 01, 2024 07:56 PM IST
Recent election trends suggest that Indian politicians now see women as a potential vote bank and tailor manifestoes to win their support
Do you belong to that group of people who feel that our politicians are seldom concerned with public welfare and are not investing enough attention to uplift the masses? Do you feel that during the elections they cynically create a wedge in the society and abandon the electorate once they win?
To answer these questions, let me take you back to 2023. The state government in Madhya Pradesh was facing an extreme anti-incumbency. In such an adverse scenario, then chief minister (CM) Shivraj Singh Chauhan suddenly came up with Ladli Behna Yojana. The scheme turned the tide in his favour, and the incumbent CM romped home with a landslide victory. It is another matter that the Bharatiya Janata Party replaced him in Bhopal with a new leadership. Similarly, in Himachal Pradesh and Karnataka, the Congress won assembly elections riding on schemes specially designed for women’s welfare. Clearly, welfare schemes, especially for women, are becoming a sure-shot way to retain or regain power.
The trend began in 2001 during the Tamil Nadu assembly elections when CM J Jayalalithaa launched schemes, especially targeting women, and they rewarded her with a massive mandate. Later, Bihar CM Nitish Kumar used the same policy in his state. In 2006, he launched a scheme to distribute bicycles to female students in class nine onwards. People aware of ground realities in Bihar know that the girl child was missing out on higher education since there were fewer schools and their families couldn’t arrange their transport. This led to a large number of girls dropping out after primary school. The data on the impact of Nitish Kumar’s scheme on gender parity in Bihar’s government offices, educational institutes, and social parameters are eye-opening.
The young women provided Nitish Kumar with huge political gains in the 2010 Bihar assembly elections. Women’s participation in polling was higher than that of male voters: According to the Election Commission, 51.12% of men voted, as compared to 54.49% of women. In April 2016, Nitish Kumar cemented his bond with women by implementing prohibition in the state.
Political parties today recognise that women’s participation in elections can dislodge a government or bring it back to power. Haryana is a great example of the latter. A few weeks before the assembly elections, the Congress party was riding high. Political pundits were confident that the Congress would win the election. But the BJP then announced the Ladli Lakshmi Yojana, according to which every woman was to receive ₹2,100 per month from the government. The manifesto also mentioned Avval Balika Yojana for girls excelling in their studies. The scheme promised a scooterette for college-going girls in rural areas. The homemaker scheme promised gas cylinders for ₹500. As a result, anti-incumbency evaporated in no time, and the BJP won Haryana for a record third time.
The story has been repeated in Maharashtra and Jharkhand. Eknath Shinde’s Ladli Bahin Yojana and Hemant Soren’s Maiya Samman Yojana have helped women voters consolidate behind them and played an important role in ensuring the victory of their parties and allies.
Women in our country approach issues differently from men. They vote for the party or the leader who looks after their families’ interests. Indian politicians, governed by their selfish interests, are finally working for this new vote block that has been languishing in the background for centuries. This is good for a healthy democracy.
In this context, we will have to mention the welfare schemes Prime Minister Narendra Modi initiated after he won office in 2014. During the Covid-19 pandemic, he launched Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana, which helped in saving millions from starvation. It is a fact that a full belly gives you time to improve your as well as your family’s lot. It inspires you to work towards securing a good education for your children. Once a large chunk of the population was freed from the concern of finding two meals a day, 81 crore people all over the country started investing in good health, education, and other important necessities of their lives. This not only changed their life but also helped in expanding the GDP of the country. Similarly, the Swachh Bharat Mission provided toilets to women to improve their social and physical security and restore their dignity. The Centre has provided 11.6 crore personal toilets to women and Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana has more than 10.27 crore women beneficiaries. This beneficiary group has emerged as a new political and social vote bloc.
The long-term impact of these women-centric schemes will be greater than the impact we have seen with caste-based reservations, the Sarda Act, or the abolition of Sati. However, there’s a flip side to it. Women’s participation in voting has been increasing, but their presence in Parliament is woefully low. Let’s hope our leaders actively address this issue too.
So, is it fair to doubt politicians and their motives, especially when they continue to harp on dividing society? The trend is regrettable. But the fact is that if political heavyweights approach the electorate with their report cards instead of empty slogans, the people of India will not let them down.
Shashi Shekhar is editor-in-chief, Hindustan. The views expressed are personal
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