NEW DELHI: Women are the new kingmakers in elections. Little wonder, political parties have gone all out to woo them elections after elections. We have seen this in Lok Sabha elections, assembly elections and now even in the civic body polls.With municipal corporation elections in Mumbai, Pune and other regions of Maharashtra next week, the BJP-led Mahayuti government has scheduled the credit of instalments under the Mukhyamantri Majhi Ladki Bahin Yojana on January 14, just 24 hours before the voting begins. Under the scheme, more than 2.5 crore women will get payments for December 2025 and January 2026, totalling Rs 3,000 per beneficiary.Maharashtra Congress questions timing As expected, the Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee objected strongly to this pre-poll payout. It has written to the State Election Commission, alleging that the timing of the payments violates the Model Code of Conduct and requesting that disbursement be deferred until after polling.But the state government has strongly defended its decision. State revenue minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule rejected Congress’s claim and said the payments were part of an ongoing welfare scheme and not linked to the election schedule. “This is an ongoing welfare programme of the state government. For polls in 29 civic bodies, women across the entire state cannot be deprived of their rightful benefits,” he told a press conference, adding any attempt to stall payments would amount to discrimination against women.And its not just the BJP trying to woo women voters ahead of the civic body polls. The Thackeray cousins, Uddhav and Raj, have also reached out to women voters in their manifesto, promising “Swabhiman Nidhi” of Rs 1,500 per month for house helps and women from the Koli community.The Ladki Bahin Scheme had played a key role in the resounding victory of the BJP-led Mahayuti in the last asembly elections in the state in which the opposition’s MVA was literally decimated. This perhaps explains why the ruling combine wants to send a timely reminder to the women voters of the state.Tamil Nadu: Additional payouts ahead of 2026 pollsThe story is no different in Tamil Nadu, which goes to polls in a few months to elect a new assembly. The DMK government in the state, led by chief minister MK Stalin, launched the second phase of the Kalaignar Magalir Urimai Thittam (KMUT), expanding the flagship women’s rights entitlement scheme to benefit an additional 17 lakh women across the state.The state government also announced a one-time additional payment of Rs 1,000 in December 2025 to beneficiaries of the scheme, which provides monthly assistance of Rs 1,000 to eligible women. The additional payment was credited ahead of the Pongal festival.Opposition parties, including the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and the BJP, which is in opposition here, have criticised the timing of the payment alleging it was announced with electoral considerations in mind. The DMK, like the Mahayuti government in Maharashtra, stated that the payment was budgeted and part of existing welfare commitments.Meanwhile, BJP working president Nitin Nabin asked party workers on Sunday to step up their opposition to DMK government, turning local issues into a campaign tool. He asked them to draft women–centric campaigns focussing on issues such as lack of safety in the state.The women vote rushBoth states have brought the spotlight to a pattern now becoming a national trend – women swinging the electorate. In Bihar assembly elections 2025, women’s turnout (71.78%) topped men’s (62.98%), propelling NDA to victory. Earlier, Maharashtra’s 2024 assembly polls saw similar patterns, with Ladki Bahin yojana being credited for Mahayuti’s sweep.As BMC voters line up January 15 and Tamil Nadu prepares to vote in a few months, one fact remains unchanged: India’s “ladki behen” and “penn magal” aren’t just beneficiaries anymore.They are now the new kingmakers and parties, it seems, are ready to pay any price to win their vote.
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