Direct benefit in elections by sending money into account, how Ladki Bahin and Maiyan Samman did wonders in Maharashtra and Jharkhand

New Delhi : An important aspect of the economy has again come to the fore with the election results of Maharashtra and Jharkhand. Be it Ladki Bahin Yojana in Maharashtra or Maaniya Samman Yojana in Jharkhand, the electoral importance of Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) schemes started under different names to help the poor is increasing. Experts say that the main reason for this is that amidst strong GDP growth, a large section of the population is facing difficulties and is not in a position to ignore any relief.

Magic worked in Karnataka-MP
If we look at the last 2 decades, MNREGA scheme was implemented in 2006 as a big gamechanger scheme. The objective was to free rural areas from the vicious cycle of unemployment. This scheme showed effect in the 2009 Lok Sabha elections. Later, many schemes including Kisan Samman Nidhi related to Aadhaar linked direct benefit transfer were implemented at the central and state level, which showed their electoral impact. Last year, in the Congress manifesto in Karnataka elections, Griha Jyoti, Griha Lakshmi, Anna Bhagya, Shakti and Yuvanidhi were included. The name slogan was given to 5 guarantee schemes focused on women and youth. Congress got electoral benefit from this. Shivraj Singh Chouhan government of Madhya Pradesh had also announced Ladli Brahmin Yojana in January. From March, arrangements were made to send Rs 1250 per month to the account of every woman from a poor family. This move of Chauhan proved to be a surefire weapon in the elections held at the end of the year.


Soren and Shinde’s bet
Chief Minister Maiyan Samman Yojana was started in Jharkhand a day before Rakshabandhan in August this year. One thousand rupees started going into the accounts of poor women every month. As elections approached, Jharkhand government passed a proposal to increase the amount to Rs 2500. It is clear from the election results that the bet was not in vain. In Maharashtra, Shinde government this year announced to give Rs 1500 every month to poor women under Ladki Bahin Yojana. Opposition leaders including Sharad Pawar had raised questions on this citing the financial condition of the state.

It was also alleged that under the scheme which was started in a hurry, the elections were announced late to deposit two-three months of money in the accounts of women. At the same time, Mahayuti alliance put full emphasis on its bet by promising to increase the amount to Rs 2100 after the elections. The results are confirming that the bet was correct.

Why did the opposition arrow go empty?
In Jharkhand, BJP promised a scheme of Rs 2100 every month to women on the lines of Mainiya Samman Yojana. At the same time, MVA in Maharashtra promised to give Rs 2000 per month to poor women. But at both the places voters did not pay much attention to the opposition promises. This means that the beneficiary voters are relying more on what they are getting rather than on promises. The last election of Rajasthan is also important in this picture, where the then Ashok Gehlot government had run schemes for the poor in many areas including health and had also promised 7 guarantees, yet it lost.

These schemes also proved wrong those who predicted that Congress would be wiped out in the state. Congress won 70 seats with around 40% vote share. Such schemes also saved BRS from being swept in the Telangana elections and it won 39 out of 119 seats. However, Jagan Mohan Reddy did not get help in Andhra. The results of states like Rajasthan, Telangana and Andhra also indicated that the already running schemes are being taken out of focus and parties have to present a new package to woo the beneficiary voters.

‘Everyone chose the easy path’
Dr. Sarathi Acharya, senior economist of the Institute of Human Development, said, ‘The economy is growing, but many people are in great difficulty. The earning condition is not good. About 85% of the youth are unskilled to get jobs in the industry. But instead of working on a long-term plan, every party has chosen the easy way of distributing cash for electoral gains. The poor get some relief from this and they support these parties, but in the true sense, this is neither going to bring progress for them nor for the country.