Cong-BJP spar over Jabalpur link of MP CM's 'Ladli Behna Yojana' event, Priyanka rally

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan will transfer Rs 1,000 each into the bank accounts of 1.25 crore women on Saturday as part of his government's flagship 'Mukhya Mantri Ladli Behna Yojana'.

The move, which Bharatiya Janata Party leaders have routinely claimed is a game changer in the state where polls are likely to be held at the end of the year, comes ahead of Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra kickstarting her party's campaign with a rally in Jabalpur on Monday.

Congress leaders claimed Gandhi had announced Rs 1,500 to eligible women under the 'Nari Samman Nidhi' in the run up to the Himachal Pradesh Assembly polls (in December 2022) and that Chouhan had copied the move for his 'Ladli Behna Yojana'.

Asserting that Gandhi's function at Jabalpur was decided at least one-and-half months ago, MP Congress media department chairperson KK Mishra said the BJP government organised the Laldi Behna benefit transfer function ''out of fear and in a futile attempt to negate Priyanka's function and influence''.

The BJP was showing such desperation as it knew its days as ruling party were numbered, Mishra said.

Hitting back, MP BJP spokesperson Neha Bagga said Gandhi's only achievement was that she looked like her grandmother former prime minister Indira Gandhi.

''She lacks political and organisational skills which were proved in the Uttar Pradesh polls where the Congress was wiped out despite her campaign. Our function was not decided in Jabalpur in a hurry. It was decided well in advance,'' Bagga claimed.

The Congress was spending Rs 1 crore on Gandhi's visit while CM Chouhan was putting Rs 1,000 each in the bank accounts of 1.25 crore women, she further claimed.

CM Chouhan asked women to light lamps in their homes on June 10 once the Ladli Behna Yojana money comes into their accounts, which can be withdrawn from the next day onwards.

Chouhan had launched the Ladli Behna Yojana on March 5 this year on the occasion of his 65th birthday and a provision of Rs 8,000 crore was made for it in the budget for 2023-24.

Under the scheme, women in the 23-60 age group will be given Rs 1,000 per month subject to certain conditions, including that they are not income tax payees and their families' annual income is below Rs 2.50 lakh.

Women outnumber male voters in at least 18 of the 230 Assembly seats in MP, including tribal dominated areas like Balaghat, Mandla, Dindori, Alirajpur and Jhabua districts.

Moreover, the number of new women voters has risen by 2.79 per cent, while it is 2.30 per cent for men, officials said, adding that of the 13.39 lakh new voters in the state, 7.07 lakh are women.

In the 2018 polls, the Congress won 114 seats and BJP 109 seats in the 230-member House.

The Congress formed a government under Kamal Nath, which fell in March 2020 after some MLAs loyal to Jyotiraditya Scindia walked out, paving the way for the return of Chouhan as CM.