After former Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan’s long innings as Mama (maternal uncle), his successor and incumbent CM Mohan Yadav is playing Bhaiya (brother) to the estimated 1.39 crore Ladli Behnas of Madhya Pradesh registered under the scheme.
This scheme was considered to be a game-changer for the BJP in the last assembly elections. With Rakhi around the corner, the Mohan Yadav government has decided to give a festival gift of Rs 250 to each of the 1.39 crore Ladli Behnas. On 10 August, Rs 1500 were credited to their account — as Rs 1250 is the monthly amount to the beneficiaries plus the Rs 250 Rakhi present.
The scheme, however, is proving to be costly to the state exchequer as Madhya Pradesh is already neck-deep in debt — over Rs 3.5 lakh crore. The state, after all, has a budget of a little over Rs 3.65 lakh crore. The Mohan Yadav government inherited the whooping debt, along with empty coffers, from Shivraj Singh Chouhan who served as chief minister for over 16 years.
Many of Shivraj's labharthi schemes for women may have not achieved the purpose of empowering them, but by doing so, Shivraj systematically cultivated his Mama image. He has even named his new palatial government bungalow, constructed after demolishing two of his government bungalows, Mama ka Ghar.
In Chitrakoot, when Mohan Yadav announced the extra money this Rakhi, he also sang the popular Bollywood number phoolon ka taaron ka sabka kehna hai ek hazaaron mein meri behna hai amidst thunderous applause.
Is he following Shivraj's footsteps, especially when the former CM is in Delhi, away from the state;s politics?
Mohan Yadav does not seem to be satisfied with only Bhaiya. The placards going around in the ongoing rakhi celebrations in Madhya Pradesh read Ladle Bhaiya (dear brother).
The government is also releasing videos showing women tying a Rakhi to Mohan Yadav in both of his hands with the same Bollywood number playing in the background. Besides, details of Rakhi celebration programmes of the chief minister in different districts are also being released on social media.
The chief minister also announced, “The gift is not all about money; it is about our relationship, that is, of brother and sister.” And the crowd of women under the shamiyana clapped enthusiastically.
“On the day of Rakhi”, the CM told the Ladli Behnas in another event, “Use the Rs 250 to fetch a Rakhi and some sweets. It is not possible to have a Rakhi tied from 1.39 crore Ladli Behnas. So, when you apply the tilak on the forehead of your brother, it would automatically get put on my forehead as well."
Yadav also announced that such Rakhi celebrations will be held all over the state at 25000 venues. Corporators, MLAs, and MPs would also take part in these programmes.
The chief minister added that the Ladli Behna scheme, despite what people rumoured after the Vidhan Sabha elections, won't be shut down. Taking a dig at the Congress party, he said, "Your party may shut down but this scheme will not."
After winning Madhya Pradesh yet again, when the BJP’s national leadership shifted Shivraj to Delhi, there was a void in the political space. But whenever Shivraj gets time from Delhi, he makes it a point to visit Bhopal to remind the Ladli Behnas that Mama is back.
BJP insiders told me, "As soon as Mohan Yadav got the first opportunity on Rakhi, he pounced, opting for Ladle Bhaiya." A BJP minister quipped that whoever sits on the seat of the chief minister, will be the bhaiya of MP by default. That is how important the woman vote has become.
Mohan Yadav has gone one step ahead of Shivraj's policies. The LPG cylinder scheme (available at Rs 450) has been extended, not only to all the 20 lakh beneficiaries of the Ujjawala scheme but also to the 20 lakh applicants of the Ladli Behna scheme. This would cost around Rs 1.8 billion to the state.
(The author is a senior journalist based in Madhya Pradesh. This is an opinion article and the views expressed above are the author’s own. The Quint neither endorses nor is responsible for them.)
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