Overview
- Devendra Fadnavis, Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar each claimed ownership of the women’s cash-transfer scheme on the campaign trail, promising it will continue.
- Fadnavis cited progress toward the government’s ‘Lakhpati Didi’ target, saying 50 lakh women have been reached toward a goal of 1 crore.
- Shinde asserted the Mahayuti rests on shared ideology and will continue, comments that followed public signs of strain between the Shiv Sena and the BJP.
- The program pays ₹1,500 monthly to eligible women aged 18–65 and is estimated to cost about ₹45,000 crore a year; initial rolls of 2.5 crore saw 77,000 removed after scrutiny and tightened rules.
- Opposition leaders labeled the plan an election ‘jumla’ and warned it could be scrapped after polls, as Shinde campaigned in Thane district and touted a ₹500 crore allocation for Badlapur projects.