Parties make slew of announcements ahead of elections in Madhya Pradesh

Assembly elections are to be held in Madhya Pradesh in less than six months and both the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the ruling party, and the main Opposition, the Congress, are out to make an impact on the electorate with their programmes and schemes.

Both the parties are trying to win over women, who make up for about 48 per cent of the vote.

While the BJP is pitching up the Ladli Behna and farmer loan waiver schemes, the Congress has introduced the Nari Samman Yojana.

The government recently approved the scheme for waiving outstanding interest up to Rs 2 lakh of nearly 1.112 million defaulter farmers of primary agricultural credit cooperative societies (PACS).

The amount to be waived is Rs 2,123 crore. According to the scheme, the defaulters will have to apply to their committee to get the waiver. The list containing the details of outstanding loans and interest will be made public through a portal.

As a challenger to the Laadli Behna scheme, the Congress has held out the Nari Samman Yojana, which promises Rs 1,500 each month to women and a domestic gas cylinder for Rs 500 (the market price is Rs 1100) if the party comes to power in the state.

Congress workers will visit homes to get the forms of the Nari Samman scheme filled in and issue receipts, and the benefits will start immediately after the government is formed in the state, the party has said.

The BJP government’s Ladli Behna scheme will provide Rs 1,000 each month to married women of economically weaker sections from June. More than 12.5 million women have registered themselves for this.

Analyst Saji Thomas said: “The state is reeling from debt. The government will have to take more loans to fulfil its promise. It seems good as an election strategy but will definitely worsen the fiscal condition of the state.”

Announcing the Nari Samman scheme, former chief minister Kamal Nath said while the BJP had promised to pay Rs 12,000 per year to women, the Congress, when in power, would provide a benefit of Rs 25,000 per year in the form of Rs 1,500 monthly cash assistance and a Rs 600 subsidy per cylinder.