Amid the spotlight on women voters in poll-bound Uttar Pradesh, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will attend an event being attended by over two lakh women in Prayagraj on Tuesday, where he will transfer Rs 1,000 crore to Self Help Groups (SHGs) with a target of benefitting around 16 lakh women members.
This transfer is being done under the Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana - National Rural Livelihood Mission (DAY-NRLM), with 80,000 SHGs receiving Community Investment Fund (CIF) of Rs 1.10 lakh per SHG and 60,000 SHGs receiving Revolving Fund of Rs 15,000 per SHG.
Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi, who had on October 19, announced to give 40% of Congress tickets to women, had on Sunday taken potshots at the prime minister over the Tuesday event saying "it seems Modiji has realised, for the first time, in his political life that he has do something for women else he will not get their votes."
On Monday, UP Congress chief Ajay Kumar Lallu took out a "Shakti Samvad Padyatra" of women in his home constituency, which he projected as the "Mahaabhiyan" of women empowerment and something that lays the foundation of the participation of women.
The spotlight on women voters in the Hindi heartland state is significant given the past of almost negligible significance having been given to women representation and miniscule focus to women's issues in elections in the state, which has a 403-member Assembly. The state has nearly 7 crore women voters, a little less than male voters. In the last Assembly polls, nearly 63% of women voters had used their franchise in UP.
The official statement by the Central government on Monday highlighted the upcoming event as "a one of its kind", which is being held as per "PM’s vision of empowerment of women, esp at the grassroot level" by providing them with necessary skills, incentives and resources.
In the event, the prime minister will transfer first month's stipend to Business Correspondent - Sakhis. 20,000 Sakhis will get Rs 4,000 as first month's stipend in their account when they commence their work as providers of doorstep financial services at grassroot level. They will be paid the stipend for six months. The idea is that they get stabilised in their work and then start earning through the commission on transactions.
Modi will lay the foundation stone of over 200 Supplementary Nutrition Manufacturing Units which are being funded by the Self Help Groups and will be constructed at the cost of approx Rs 1 crore for one unit. These units will supply the Supplementary Nutrition under the Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS) in 600 blocks of the state.
He will also transfer money to the tune of Rs 20 crore covering 1 lakh beneficiaries of Mukhya Mantri Kanya Sumangala Scheme that provides conditional cash transfer to a girl child at different stages of her life. The total transfer is Rs 15,000 per beneficiary.
Addressing 'Ladki Hoon Lad Sakti Hoon — Shakti Samvaad' in Rae Bareli, the Parliamentary constituency of her mother Sonia Gandhi, Priyanka had said the rival parties in UP have talking about women only after her party gave the slogan of "Ladki Hoon, Lad Sakti Hoon" (I am a girl and I can fight).
Priyanka Gandhi, who as AICC general secretary in-charge for UP is the face of the party in this Assembly polls, has taken a gamble of sorts by pitching for 40% tickets for women in a state where the ratio of women winning elections is very poor. In the outgoing Assembly, there were only 40 women MLAs, that is just 10% of total Assembly strength.
But given the low base of Congress and its near decimation, the party perhaps thought to give a shock therapy of sorts and explore something new. Whether the idea of gender representation clicks, will be known only after the poll results. The constituency of women voters has been nursed assiduously by Modi-led BJP since 2014 and it has paid off the BJP well. Whether Priyanka Gandhi's prescription to power for women alters this, also remains to be seen.
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