Vandita Mishra writes: The Woman Vote & the BJP win

What explains the spectacular turnaround successful the BJP’s fortunes, from the Lok Sabha setback successful the authorities successful June to the assembly canvass expanse successful November? How did it bushed backmost husbandman distress, unemployment, and the scourge of rising prices? How did the Congress negociate to fritter distant the vantage it had gained successful the aforesaid state, astir six months later?

It is being said, by the BJP and its allies, and by respective analysts, that the BJP-led alliance’s monolithic triumph successful Maharashtra is owed to the “women’s vote” that came its mode due to the fact that of the Eknath Shinde government’s Ladki Bahin Yojana — a currency transportation of Rs 1500 to women betwixt 21 to 65 years of age, whose yearly household income is little than Rs 2.5 lakh. At slightest 2.26 crore women are estimated to person benefited already done 4 instalments; Congress had promised to treble the magnitude successful the scheme.

While the currency transportation strategy whitethorn so person played a relation successful the Mahayuti’s victory, the over-estimation of its interaction is problematic.

One, it smacks of a recourse to the casual answer, a governmental and analytical cave-in. Two, it unsees and unhears the voices from the ground, including and particularly of women voters, the scheme’s targeted beneficiaries, that person raised questions astir its adequacy oregon efficacy.

In my travels done the Vidarbha portion successful this election, the women voters I spoke to were acold little misty-eyed astir the strategy than governmental pundits successful Delhi who property to it magical properties. Most women voters I met connected the Maharashtra crushed acknowledged that they had received the currency transportation but instantly followed it up with a question — however acold tin Rs 1,500 a period spell successful times erstwhile farmers are not getting the due “bhaav (prices)” for their crops, and erstwhile prices of indispensable commodities are skyrocketing? “Take distant this currency and springiness america little prices and jobs for our children, instead”, said many. “The authorities is taking from america and giving it backmost to america arsenic largesse, it is taking much and giving backmost less”, others said.

The questions by some pistillate and antheral voters successful Maharashtra astir the short-term hand-out, arsenic opposed to a semipermanent leg-up, echoed the anxieties and concerns raised by voters successful Madhya Pradesh, a authorities I had besides travelled to up of the assembly predetermination astir precisely a twelvemonth ago. In MP, too, the incumbent BJP authorities returned to power. There, too, the currency transportation scheme, the Shivraj Singh Chouhan’s Ladli Behna Yojana, was all-too-hastily crowned the match-winner.

The unnuanced solemnisation of the currency transportation scheme, particularly 1 successful which women are the targeted beneficiaries, takes a toll — it reinforces the representation of women arsenic lone labharthis. Of course, this is simply a occupation with each specified schemes successful general, aimed astatine some men and women. But erstwhile it comes to women voters, who are turning retired successful expanding numbers to ballot successful successive elections astatine the authorities and cardinal levels, it besides means that small oregon nary effort is made to place and recognize the factors that person contributed to the caller stirrings connected the ground, and to respond to them. The rising turnouts of women formed a work connected parties successful presumption of framing agendas that are much delicate to them arsenic rights-bearing, not conscionable largesse-receiving, citizens.

To beryllium sure, the cash-transfer strategy is enormously invaluable successful times of economical downturn successful an unequal society, and successful a play of distress similar the 1 triggered by Covid. In a mounting wherever the conditions for an enabling situation for each citizens is missing, wherever determination is small oregon nary governmental will, crossed the spectrum, for bringing indispensable reforms and creating important opportunities, successful acquisition and wellness care, for instance, specified schemes tin play a relation successful helping easiness the pain, use a balm. But by losing show of their inherent limitations, and by talking up their effects excessively, parties and pundits bash a disservice to the precise voters successful whose sanction they assertion to speak.

The centre-staging of the Ladki Bahin Yojana successful the aftermath of the Maharashtra result besides has different intended effect. It helps to divert attraction from other, little palatable, elements of the run of the winner. In this election, the BJP flashed 2 caller slogans — “Ek hain toh harmless hain”, said PM Modi; “Batenge toh katenge”, said CM Yogi.

Both slogans sought to wreak communal polarisation and consolidate the “Hindu” vote. This is not a caller strategy for the BJP, of course, and it is besides sometimes 1 that is over-read and over-estimated. Many volition constituent retired that the aforesaid polarisation strategy did not enactment successful Jharkhand — but that could arguably beryllium due to the fact that the BJP-fuelled polarisation came up against the JMM government’s payment schemes successful Jharkhand, whereas successful Maharashtra the BJP’s authorities of polarisation added to the BJP government’s schemes.

In the aftermath of the predetermination verdicts, the Prime Minister has sought to recast “Ek hain toh harmless hain” arsenic a slogan that spoke of unity arsenic a antagonistic to the Congress’s alleged attempts to deepen the caste divides — but that is lone the rotation of the winner. After all, the BJP itself played the caste paper to the full, wooing sub-castes wrong the OBCs and Dalits separately. On the ground, moreover, voters work the BJP slogan for its halfway connection — the bulk needs to unite to instrumentality connected the menace from the minority.

The BJP besides won due to the fact that its hostile lacked the volition oregon imaginativeness oregon organisational vigor to enactment up a genuine fight. The Congress remained stuck successful the windfall infinitesimal of six months ago, erstwhile it did good successful the Lok Sabha predetermination successful Maharashtra. Its leader, Rahul Gandhi, has climbed retired of the country the BJP’s propaganda had for agelong imprisoned him in, but the effects of his 2 yatras is wearing disconnected and helium is inactive seen by ample sections of voters arsenic a person with an unremarkable CV.

There are respective factors, therefore, that explicate the BJP’s predetermination triumph successful Maharashtra. The women’s ballot connected relationship of the currency transportation strategy whitethorn beryllium 1 of them. Inflating its relation leads to an abbreviated governmental speech and reckoning.

Till adjacent week,

Vandita