The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Madhya Pradesh government's move to provide additional benefits to women under the Ladi Behna Yojna scheme has drawn focus to the importance of the women votebase in the state. The BJP's announcement of subsidised cooking gas and more reservation in government jobs as "Rakshabandhan gifts" is looked upon as a move to lure women voters in the poll-bound state. But it's not jus the BJP, even the Congress has promised Rs 1,500 per month to every woman in the state if it comes to power in this year's assembly polls.
Why are political parties focusing on women?
The answer is simple. It is because in general, women constitute a significant part of the nation's population. Political experts say that there are a few reasons why political parties have shifted their focus to women during elections and in their manifestos. These reasons include:
1. Women form nearly 50 percent of the votebase
2. Literacy level among women and girls is rising and hence, they are making independent decisions
3. Schemes and poll promises by political parties
Now, the increasing interest of political parties towards promising specific initiatives to women is directly related to the increase in women's percentage over the year in voter turnout. As per the data by the Election Commission of India, between 1962 and 2017/18, women’s turnout in state assembly elections increased by a staggering 27 percent.
Moreover, the Times of India reported in January 2022 that the number of women electors in the country witnessed a sharper rise of 5.1 percent since the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, as compared to 3.6 percent increase in male voters.
Women voter turnout in Madhya Pradesh
Now, during the Madhya Pradesh Assembly Elections 2018, women's voter turnout was higher than that among men in 52 seats of the total 230 seats. As many as 10 seats were dominated by women — meaning women voters outnumbered male voters.
As per the Election Commission data, women constitute 47.8 percent of the total population in Madhya Pradesh, while men comprise 52.1 percent of the total state population, with the remainder identifying as others.
Let's focus on these 52 seats where women voter turnout was more than men voter turnout.
How Madhya Pradesh women voted in 2018, as compared to 2013
Analysis of the data shared by the Election Commission shows that neither BJP nor Congress neither lost or gained significantly during the 2018 elections. It was a matter of one seat in the last elections. The BJP gained one, increasing its number of seats won from 31 (in 2013 election) to 32 in 2018. Meanwhile, the Congress lost its hold on one seat.
| Party | Seats won in 2018 | Seats won in 2013 |
| BJP | 32 | 31 |
| Congress | 18 | 19 |
While the BJP retained 16 of the 31 seats it won in 2013, the Congress retained just five of the 19 seats it won in 2013. This means the BJP retained nearly 51 percent of the seats in 2018 polls, while the Congress retained just 26 percent.
Now, let's take a look at seats the BJP and the Congress have taken away from each other since the 2013 elections. Here, the ratio was not that significant. While the BJP lost 13 seats to the Congress, the Congress lost 14 seats to the BJP. Nearly equal.
Notably, the BJP managed to defeat the Congress in 14 of the 19 seats the latter had won in 2018. The Congress defeated the BJP in 13 seats of 31 seats the saffron party had won in 2018. In percentage, this means the Congress lost 73 percent of its seats, while the BJP lost 41 percent of its seats.
Overall, the data shows that the BJP retained more and lost its grip on fewer seats as compared to the Congress, which lost more and retained fewer seats dominated by women voters.
Who the women voted for in the 2018 MP elections
The analysis above also implies that most of the constituencies, where women voter turnout was more, saw the BJP winning. Moreover, political analyst Amitabh Tiwari said women voters have been in favour of the BJP. Sharing some data with CNBCTV18.com, he said that in 2013, around 46 percent of women had voted for the BJP.
Why women might have voted for BJP
This might be because of poll promises and announcements made by the BJP and the Congress in their manifestos ahead of the 2018 election.
In the last election, the BJP had launched a women-centric manifesto "Nari Shakti Sankalp Patra" for the first time, along with its general manifesto titled "Samridh Madhya Pradesh Drishti Patra".
The party had promised to install sanitary napkin vending machines in schools and focused on women's security and empowerment. It had also promised to gift two-wheelers to every girl student scoring at least 75 percent in the Class 12 board examination. The then Union finance minister, Arun Jaitley, had said the "BJP's agenda is now to improve the standard of living".
According to News18, the reason behind the separate manifesto for women was said to be an increase in crimes against women in the state. As per the report, the Shivraj Singh Chouhan government (before the 2018 election) was constantly targeted by the Opposition as Madhya Pradesh topped the chart when it came to crimes against women.
Meanwhile, the Madhya Pradesh Congress had majorly focused on farmers, employment and setting up "gaushalas". As per an India Today report, the party had promised Rs 10,000 as unemployment allowance for one young member per family for a period of three years and Rs 51,000 at the time of a girl's marriage.
What happened in past elections?
The BJP had wrested power from the Congress in MP in 2003. Since then, it has been at the helm of affairs in the state, barring the 15-month period between December 2018 and March 2020 when Congress was in power with Kamal Nath as Chief Minister.
In the 2018 assembly polls, the Congress won 114 out of the 230 seats, while the BJP finished second with 109 seats.
The Congress went on to form a coalition government with the support of independents, BSP and SP under Kamal Nath. However, that government collapsed after 15 months when a number of Congress MLAs loyal to Jyotiraditya Scindia joined the BJP, paving the way for the return of BJP's Shivraj Singh Chouhan as CM.
Now, the assembly elections in the state will take place by the end of this year. The Election Commission (EC) has yet to announce the poll dates.
(With inputs from agencies)
First Published: Aug 30, 2023 7:05 AM IST
Check out our in-depth Market Coverage, Business News & get real-time Stock Market Updates on CNBC-TV18. Also, Watch our channels CNBC-TV18, CNBC Awaaz and CNBC Bajar Live on-the-go!
Supreme Court says it may consider interim bail for Arvind Kejriwal due to ongoing Lok Sabha polls
May 3, 2024 4:57 PM
10% discount on fare on Mumbai Metro lines 2 and 7A on May 20
May 3, 2024 2:40 PM