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Women Becoming a Vote Bank
Context:
In the Maharashtra and Jharkhand Assembly elections, both the NDA and Opposition governments focused on cash transfer schemes for women.
- Maharashtra launched the ‘Mukhyamantri Majhi Ladki Bahin Yojana’, offering ₹1,500 per month to eligible women, while Jharkhand introduced the ‘Mukhyamantri Maiya Samman Yojana’, providing ₹1,000 to qualifying women.
Rise of Women as a Vote Bank:
- Rising women voters: Women are increasingly emerging as a pivotal electoral demographic. Historically, their participation in elections was passive, but recent trends show that women’s voter turnout has surged significantly—from 47% in 1962 to 66% in 2024.
- Women Issues gaining priority: This shift reflects a fundamental change in the political landscape, with women now seen as a decisive factor in elections. Political parties recognise that appealing to women’s concerns—such as financial independence, healthcare, education, and safety—has become essential for electoral success.
- Independent women decisions : Women are also increasingly voting independently of male counterparts, making them an influential voting bloc that parties must engage with effectively.
How Cash Transfer Schemes Are Mobilising Women Voters:
- Providing immediate needs : Cash transfer schemes have become a strategic tool for political parties to mobilise women voters. These programs, often linked to women’s bank accounts through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT), provide direct financial assistance that addresses their immediate needs and enhances their economic autonomy.
- Elimination of middleman : By offering quick, visible, and recurring benefits, cash transfers create a sense of gratitude towards the ruling party. The simplicity of DBT, which eliminates intermediaries and ensures efficient fund delivery, strengthens the connection between women and the government.
- Resonance with vulnerable sections : These schemes, which resonate particularly with rural and marginalised women, play a key role in building voter loyalty and galvanising support.
Issues with the Government’s Cash Transfer Strategy:
- Flattening of welfare strategies : One major concern is the flattening of welfare strategies, where multiple states—both ruling and opposition—adopt similar cash transfer programs without offering innovative solutions to the root causes of poverty and inequality.
- This emphasis on efficiency over strengthening state capacity can lead to a lack of focus on improving public services such as education, healthcare, and infrastructure.
- Shifting the burden to the poor: Furthermore, cash transfers can shift the burden of welfare onto the poor, encouraging them to seek private alternatives for essential services, such as healthcare and education, which they may not be able to afford.
- Short term in nature: While DBT offers immediate relief, it fails to address the structural challenges of poverty and does not create long-term solutions for economic empowerment.
DBT vs Long-Term Welfare Measures:
- Short term solution: Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) programs are effective in providing immediate financial assistance, but they are a short-term solution.
- Does not cater to systematic problems: Unlike long-term welfare measures—such as improvements in education, healthcare, and job creation—DBT does not address the systemic issues that perpetuate poverty.
Why Political Parties Are Adopting These Strategies:
- The changing dynamics of voter behavior: —especially the rise of women voters as a distinct and influential bloc—has prompted parties to focus on policies that directly address women’s needs. Cash transfers offer a quick and visible form of relief, which is politically advantageous in competitive electoral environments.
- Gaining Political strategies : Political parties face pressure to adopt successful policies to avoid falling behind their rivals, leading to the emulation of DBT programs across states. This has created a political climate where cash transfers are viewed as both a strategy to gain votes and a means to maintain political legitimacy.
The Future of Welfare Strategies:
Limitations : The future of India’s welfare strategies may be shaped by the continued reliance on cash transfer schemes, but there is an increasing recognition that these programs cannot address the deeper, systemic issues of poverty and inequality. While cash transfers provide short-term relief, they do not lay the foundation for long-term, transformative change.
To create a more sustainable welfare system, there is a growing need to shift the focus from simply providing financial assistance to addressing the root causes of poverty through long-term investments in human capital, infrastructure, and social services. Political parties must balance the immediate benefits of cash transfers with broader, more comprehensive strategies that can foster economic empowerment, strengthen public welfare systems, and ensure a more equitable future.
