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Sources told News18 that the process of identifying the scheme and drawing its financial contours was...
Read More The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), riding on the success of the recent elections in Maharashtra and Delhi, is now keen to bring welfare schemes for women in poll-bound Bihar to woo the critical vote bank. Sources aware of the developments told News18: “Currently, the process of identifying the scheme and its details, including financial planning and the name of the scheme, are under consideration." They added: “There has to be effective financial planning for the same, and a budget must be set aside.
It looks like the scheme will be implemented from July." Women have been rallying behind the BJP-led NDA government across states. They proved to be instrumental in Maharashtra where the Ladki Bahin scheme — which saw 2.
5 crore women as beneficiaries — turned out to be one of the major factors helping BJP sweep the state. Women also helped BJP secure a victory for the first time in more than two-and-a-half decades in the national capital. Recently, the BJP government in Delhi give its approval to the welfare scheme promised in polls for women.
Delhi also has Rekha Gupta as the chief minister — the fourth woman CM the national capital has seen. In the last assembly elections, women played a vital role in helping NDA sweep Bihar. It is believed that two factors tilted the scale in chief minister Nitish Kumar’s favour.
One was the implementation of the liquor ban, especially in the rural belts of the state where spurious liquor was a menace. Two, the elections happened within months of the first wave of Covid-19 and the Centre’s scheme of providing free ration to the public was welcomed by voters. Many women acknowledge the fact that under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana, despite the hardships of Covid-19, their families did not go hungry.
Bihar sends a huge number of migrants across states who could benefit from the Union government’s scheme. The long queues of women at polling stations in 2020 was an indication of the way the wind was going to blow. It was for the first time after a long duration that women emerged as a silent vote bank.
The saffron party has clarified that in the upcoming elections, incumbent chief minister Nitish Kumar will continue to be their face for Bihar. It is also learnt that soon, all the alliance partners will hit the ground running and seat-distribution talks will be held. Both the JDU and BJP will seek the lion’s share of seats in the alliance, which also has parties like the Lok Janshakti Party Ram Vilas faction led by Chirag Pawan, Jitan Ram Manjhi-led Hindustani Awam Morcha and Upendra Kushwaha’s Rashtriya Lok Samta Party.
As the build-up begins for the Bihar elections — slated to take place later this year — the NDA will once again stress to the voters the advantages of having a double-engine government. This year’s budget by the Centre has awarded many crucial developmental projects for the state and also honoured the long-pending demand of a board for the production of Makhana, a superfood grown in some parts of the state..
