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The assembly election results of Maharashtra and Jharkhand have seen the incumbents retaining power in their respective states. Their victory is being attributed to the direct cash transfer schemes launched by their governments a few months before the elections.
We found that when state governments actually gave cash transfers to women before assembly elections, they not only successfully managed to avoid anti-incumbency, but also improved their numbers from the previous elections. This applies only when cash distribution has actually been made and not when pre-poll promises of cash assistance have been made.
Let’s take a deeper look at how cash transfers to women stemmed the anti-incumbency wave:
2021 West Bengal: Lakshmir Bhandar Yojana saved Mamata from BJP’s aggressive campaign and gave big majority
Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress launched the Lakshmir Bhandar scheme in February 2021, three months before the West Bengal Assembly elections in May 2021. Under this scheme, monthly cash assistance of Rs 1200 and cash was given to SC/ST women between the age of 25 to 60 years. Assistance of Rs 1000 to women of similar age group from other categories. Women who want to benefit from the scheme should be enrolled under the ‘Swasthyasathi’ scheme. The report said that 2.11 crore women were beneficiaries of these schemes.
In a highly tense election, TMC not only managed to prevent the BJP from forming its first government in West Bengal but also secured a higher vote share despite 10 years of anti-incumbency.
2023 Madhya Pradesh: Laadli Brahmin gave 54 more seats to BJP, ending the anti-incumbency wave of almost four times.
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan launched the Laadli Behna scheme in August 2023, eight months before the November 2023 state assembly elections. Under the scheme, women aged 21-60 years, whose family income is limited to ₹2.5 lakh, received financial assistance of ₹1000. As a result, the BJP overcame a nearly four-year long anti-incumbency wave. This increased BJP’s vote share by 7.53% compared to the previous assembly elections in 2018.
The Madhya Pradesh unit of the Congress had also promised direct cash transfers to women, but could not get favorable election results as the BJP government was actually transferring money to more than one crore women for eight months before the elections.
