December’s Ladki Bahin payout soon after poll results: Shinde

Mumbai: To maximise the impact of its flagship welfare scheme, the Ladki Bahin Yojana, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Monday assured its beneficiaries that the December instalment would be credited to their bank accounts immediately after the election results were announced.
Shinde said this while on the campaign trail in the Chandivali assembly constituency in Mumbai, ahead of the upcoming assembly elections. The ruling Mahayuti alliance government, which has a lot riding on this scheme aimed at economically vulnerable women, has thus far disbursed five monthly instalments. It also made an advance payout for November.
“They (Congress) moved the Bombay High Court against the scheme. The judiciary rejected their petition, and they directly went to Nagpur… that Wadpalliwar,” said Shinde, referring to Anil Wadpalliwar, the Nagpur-based social activist who had sought to challenge the scheme in court.
Amping up his rhetoric 10 days before polling, Shinde urged his audience to question the opposition on why they had allegedly attempted to stop the scheme. “They want to investigate all these schemes that we have announced and want to put us behind bars. They shouldn’t take me lightly; I will give a fitting reply. I am ready to go behind bars umpteen times. If you want to put me in jail, the jail bars should be strong,” Shinde said, referring the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) coalition, which includes the Congress.
He also claimed the MVA’s five-point manifesto had been “stolen” from the schemes rolled out by the Mahayuti. For example, he said, the MVA’s Mahalaxmi scheme, which assured women beneficiaries ₹3,000 per head, was on the lines of the Mahayuti’s Ladki Bahin Yojana.
“They did not pay this when they were in power in Karnataka and Himachal Pradesh. They didn’t have the money, so turned to (PM) Modi, seeking funds. Even for this, they want Modiji to provide them with money,” Shinde quipped.
The Chandivali rally was organised by sitting MLA Dilip Lande of the Shiv Sena. Shinde had visited the constituency on November 3 to inaugurate Lande’s election office. The second visit, within a week, is being seen as Lande being on shaky ground. While addressing the gathering, Shinde asked Lande to avoid a close shave in the polls, like the one he had during the 2019 elections, when he won by 409 votes over Congress candidate Arif Naseem Khan.
Shinde also told his audience that if the Mahayuti was returned to power, it would open a degree college in the constituency along with an industrial centre and a beautified promenade around Powai Lake. He also said he would get the Green Zone reservation of Mohili Village lifted to develop the area, which is currently dotted with shanties.