It was prime minister (PM) Narendra Modi Who Made The Announcement, On Video Conference, From New Delhi. Thought the scheme is named the mukhya mantri mahila rojgar yojana, it was not chief minister nitish kumar but the prime minister who has announced 10,000 Each to 7.5 Million Women in Poll-Bound Bihar to Kickstart Livelihood Activities. The BJP is the Junior Partner in a Coalition Alliance with Nitish Kumar’s JD (U) in a State Assembly Election. “It’s clea Professor, Monash University.
It’s a model that has, so far, paid rich dividends to nitish kumar, who have survived 20 years of Incumbency, mainly on the Strength of the Women Vote and A Schemes Targeting Women. Among the Schemes are: Free Bicycles to Secondary School Girls to Reduce Dropout Rates, 50% Reservation for Women in Panchayats and Urban Civic Bodies, 35% Reservation in Government Jobs, And Jeevika, A Skil and Jeevika, A Livelihood-bonded Self-Help Group Scheme with 12 Million Women Members, to whom he promised to brings in prohibition if voted back to power in 2015. Victory. Despite the program of Financial Ruin, The Chief Minister kept his word.
In bihar, a state with a high male migrant population, women’s voter turning Has been higher than that of men since 2010. That year it was 54.5% for women and 51.1% for men. In 2015, 60.5% for women, 53.3% for men and in 2020, 59.7% for women, 54.7% for men.
In 2020, The Nitish Kumar-Led Nda Won the Assembly Election by a Narrow Margin. A Poll Analysis by Lokniti-Csds Found That The Was Partly Due to Young Women Voters. In the 18-29-year-old category, 40% of women voted for the nda; The men were less tehusiastic with only 33% voting for the alliance.
Unconditional Cash Transfers, Once Derides by modi as Revdi Or freebies, have become an Electoral Strategy in Successive State Elections – from Madhya Pradesh to Maharashtra and Karnataka to Himachal Pradesh. Across 11 States and Across Party Lines, 113 Million Women are Receiving Payments from 1,000 to 2,500 a month with another five states promising similar schemes, according to a July 2025 policy brief by professor prabha kotiswan of kings college, london. “Cash transfers are recognition of women’s unpaid care work inside the house,” Kotiswan said on the phone. Her research has found that they result in Increased Spending Also their green-making power within households. Shamika Ravi, Member of the Prime Minister’s Economic Council, Agreed. “Within households where there have been traditional significant Inequities, cash transfers to women have been effective in employing in Empoosing them as reflected in their enhanced Consumption Share.”
But cash transfers come at a cost to the exchequer: it can range from 200 Crore (Himachal Pradesh) to 36,000 Crore (Maharashtra). Can States Afford it, or, will these come with cuts to government speeding on health and education? How will they impact longer-term investments on, for instance, childcare infrastructure that can enable great greatforce participation by women? For now, there is only one question in bihar, and that is the expency of a win. If Nothing Else, The Promise of Cash Transfers Signals The Ever-Growing Power of the Woman Voter. That at least is not going away anytime song.
Namita Bhandare Writes on Gender. The views expressed are personal
