New Delhi: Gearing up for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, the Mahila Morcha of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has started an outreach programme aimed at highlighting the experiences of women under the Modi government’s ‘Lakhpati Didi’ and ‘Drone Didi’ initiatives, and how they have benefited from them.
The Lakhpati Didi initiative was announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in August, aiming to encourage women to start microenterprises within their villages and train them so that they can earn at least Rs 1 lakh per annum per household. The scheme involves skill development training for two crore women.
The PM had also launched the ‘Drone Didi’ initiative in November to empower 15,000 women self-help groups (SHGs) by providing drones for agricultural purposes.
As part of the Centre’s ongoing Viksit Bharat Sankalp Yatra programme — which aims to reach out to citizens who are eligible for various central schemes but have not benefitted so far — the BJP Mahila Morcha is exhorting beneficiaries to share their experiences not only with government officials but also with morcha members to serve as examples of women empowerment.
“One of the tasks of a political party is to bridge the gap between the government and the people. The government has launched the Viksit Bharat Sankalp Yatra, and our workers are aware of who the beneficiaries are. So, at the gram panchayat-level, we are motivating them (beneficiaries) to share their experience about whether they have got a house or loan, or if they have any grievances,” BJP Mahila Morcha head Vanathi Srinivasan told ThePrint.
She also said that the morcha is asking beneficiaries to upload their selfies on the NaMo app and that the social media team is making video reels wherein the beneficiaries share experiences of how their lives have been “transformed” with the Centre’s initiatives.
“We want the beneficiaries to tell us how PM Modi’s schemes have impacted them. We are explaining to them that this is all (a result of) Modiji ki guarantee. What changes it (Modi govt) has brought and how it was before 2014,” Srinivasan explained.
“There are Lakhpati Didis who have got a house, loan, or are running their businesses… All these are examples of women empowerment under the Modi government, and we want that their experiences should motivate others too.”
A BJP functionary told ThePrint that there are a number of women, especially in opposition-ruled states, who have still not been able to “reap the benefits of the Modi government schemes” and added that the Mahila Morcha is helping such women reach out to officials as part of the Viksit Bharat Sankalp Yatra.
Women are believed to have played a significant role in the BJP’s surge in the country in recent years. Right after the 2020 elections in Bihar, PM Modi had thanked the women of the state. Referring to them as “the silent voters”, he said this group was repeatedly voting for the BJP.
(Edited by Nida Fatima Siddiqui)
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