Taking a cue from Modi, the BJP, which lost the Madhya Pradesh (MP) 2018 Assembly election to the Congress with a close shave, is seeking ‘blessings’ of the state’s 2.60 crore women voters and counter anti-incumbency to retain power for the fifth time since 2003 in the November polls. The Shivraj Singh Chouhan government has announced more than 12 schemes for women, including the much-hyped Ladli Behna Yojana, in the last two weeks. The Shivraj Singh Chouhan government has announced more than 12 schemes for women, including the much-hyped Ladli Behna Yojana, in the last two weeks. The importance of women voters in the upcoming Assembly election can be gauged from the fact that one-third of the Rs 3.14 lakh crore State Budget focuses on them.  In 2022-23, Rs 85,000 crore was dedicated to women in the gender budget. The allocation for the gender budget has increased in the last three financial years—it was hiked from 24% in 2021-22 to 34% in 2022-23 and one-third this year. 

The Congress is eyeing women voters too. Hours after Rs 8,000 crore was allocated for the Ladli Behna Yojana in the Budget, state Congress president and former CM Kamal Nath said that women would have Rs 1,500 per month under the Mahila Sashakti Yojana if the Congress is voted to power.

According to the Election Commission, 18.82 lakh new voters were added to the list while 5.68 lakh names were deleted owing to shifting and deaths. Importantly, in 41 out of the 52 districts, more female voters were added to the updated list. Consequently, the gender ratio of voters improved from 926 to 931 women voters per 1,000 men.