Despite all the BJP machinations and the recent self-goals, Mamata Banerjee has a secret weapon up her sleeve: the humble earthen piggy bank that every Bengali woman has hidden in the recesses of her cupboard where she keeps her crisp cotton sarees. The piggy bank is called Lakshmir Bhandar, pronounced “Lokkhir Bhandar”, named after the Hindu goddess of wealth.
‘Lakshmir Bhandar’ is also the name of a scheme launched by the chief minister in August 2021 to thank women voters who propelled her to victory over the BJP’s aggressive bid for power that year. Under the scheme, women beneficiaries between ages 25 to 60 received Rs 500 each month directly in their bank accounts—Rs 1,000 if they belonged to SC/ST groups. This year, Mamata raised the grant from April onwards to Rs 1,000 and Rs 1,200, respectively—just a fortnight before the Lok Sabha elections began.
‘Lakshmir Bhandar’ became all primed and loaded as Mamata’s Brahmastra.
The scheme has reached 2.15 crore women. That means 57 per cent of women voters and 28 per cent of all voters in West Bengal. With a regular monthly deposit of Rs 1,000 or so into their bank accounts, is it very difficult to figure out the beneficiaries’ first choice on the EVM?
Some private surveys have apparently indicated that in the last couple of elections, more women have voted for the TMC than the BJP. They place the difference at a game-changing 12 per cent.
As per the Election Commission, women account for 49.12 per cent of West Bengal’s voters—3.73 crore out of 7.59 crore. Turnout on voting day in the state has traditionally been high. But lately, women’s enrollment in the voters’ list and turnout on voting day is outstripping men’s. Even in 2019, more women had voted in 18 out of the state’s 42 constituencies.
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TMC got it right
Trinamool Congress (TMC) made no mistake in identifying this vote bank and tailored government schemes to woo them. In the 2021 assembly election, the changemakers were ‘Kanyashree’ and Swasthya Sathi. Launched in 2013, Kanyasree is Mamata’s immensely popular cash transfer scheme for girl students—Rs 1,000 annually for those aged 13-18, a one-time grant of Rs 25,000 upon turning 18 and stipends for students who go on to do their masters too. Swasthya Sathi, launched in 2016, gave health insurance for the whole family.
In 2024, it will be the turn of ‘Lakshmir Bhandar’ to do its magic.
The BJP recognises how voter consolidation behind Lakshmir Bhandar can be pivotal to the outcome of the elections, but the party has tied itself in knots in its bid to compete with the power of the piggy bank.
BJP leader Dipa Chakraborty had reportedly declared that Lakshmir Bhandar scheme would be scrapped if the BJP comes to power in West Bengal. To control the damage, Suvendu Adhikari declared that the BJP would hike the grant three times, to Rs 3,000.
More recently, his boss Amit Shah committed a faux pas. At an election rally, Shah said the BJP would increase the grant amount by Rs 100. The TMC took serious affront and accused the BJP of insulting Bengal’s women, saying the party was treating them like beggars. It was left to Adhikari again to fight the fire and claim that Shah really meant a hike of ‘Rs 100 per day’, which adds up to his stated figure: Rs 3,000.
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Bengal BJP missed the bus
The BJP should have known and planned better for the she-vote in West Bengal. Prime Minister Narendra Modi did announce the ‘Lakhpati Didi’ scheme in his Independence Day speech last year and is promoting it in his election speeches this time as well. But ‘Lakhpati Didi’ is a skill development scheme, not a cash transfer one. A purely cash transfer scheme that worked like a charm for the BJP is Ladli Behna, the 2023 brainchild of former Madhya chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan. Under it, women in the 25-60 age group receive Rs 1,250 per month. In the assembly election last year, the toast of the BJP campaign was Ladli Behna.
It paid rich dividends.
Cash counts.
Congress, too, is cashing in on the direct correlation between cash transfers and votes. Its government in Karnataka led by chief minister Siddaramaiah launched ‘Gruhalaxmi’ last year, giving BPL card holding women Rs 2,000 per month, including other benefits. Telangana chief minister Revanth Reddy launched the ‘Mahalakshmi’ scheme in December, promising Rs 2,500 to women from BPL families plus benefits. In April, Congress included the Mahalakshmi scheme in its 2024 election manifesto and enhanced it to give BPL card holding women across the country Rs 1 lakh over one year. It translates to Rs 8,333 each month, outdoing all other similar schemes.
There is much debate over direct cash transfers—whether they are freebies, ‘revadi’ or dole or a welfare measure that empowers women and the family of the beneficiary. But on the eve of the last two phases of the elections in West Bengal, there is no place or time for this debate. For the TMC, it’s war out there and hopes are pinned on ’Lakshmir Bhandar’ delivering the goods.
The author is a senior journalist based in Kolkata. She tweets @Monideepa62. Views are personal.
(Edited by Prashant)