Shinde govt. extends enrolment date for women’s cash transfer scheme

Mumbai: The Maharashtra government has extended the deadline for applying for the ‘Mukhyamantri Majhi Ladki Bahin Yojana (MMLBY),’ scheme to September 30. The state government wants to cover maximum women under the direct cash transfer scheme before the Assembly election. The Eknath Shinde government is hoping to get another term in Maharashtra with the support of women voters.

After its debacle in the Lok Sabha elections, the BJP-led Mahayuti government had announced the MMLBY scheme, which covers married, divorced and destitute women in the 21-65 age groups, who will get Rs 1,500 per month. The government has earmarked Rs 46000 crore for MMLBY annually in its budget. The scheme has already received a good response from the women.

Aditi Tatkare, the Minister of Women and Child Development, said that the government has given approval to register all the eligible women of the state till September 2024.

Ms Tatkare said that they have rolled out the MMLBY scheme to make the women economically independent in the state. “The scheme will assist the women to improve their health and strengthen their decision-making role in the family. This scheme is getting good response. Earlier the deadline for registration was given till 31 August 2024. The registration has been extended till September 2024,” she said.

The minister also appealed to the women to take advantage of this scheme.

The ruling parties are of the view that this scheme would change their fate in the upcoming election, which is expected to be held in November. The Opposition MVA has alleged that the state government is trying to buy women’s votes through the scheme.

According to the state government, more than 1.35 crore women are eligible for this scheme. The department has deposited Rs 3000 to more than 1.3 crore women’s accounts.

The BJP and its alliance partners are making every effort to make the MMLBY scheme their key poll plank for the Assembly election. Maharashtra chief minister Eknath Shinde and his deputies Devendra Fadnavis from BJP and Ajit Pawar of NCP have been holding a number of events across the state to promote the scheme and woo women voters.

Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh were among the major setbacks for the BJP in the Lok Sabha elections, where the party faced a significant defeat in these key states and fell short of securing a majority. In Maharashtra, BJP seats were reduced to nine from 23 in 2019. The BJP-led alliance managed to win only 17 out of 48 Lok Sabha seats in Maharashtra.