In the next Parliamentary elections, women voters will play a big role in helping defeat Trinmaool’s chief political rival, the Bharatiya Janata Party, in the state of West Bengal, feels chief minister Mamata Banerjee. Expressing confidence that women who have benefitted hugely from the various public distribution schemes which she introduced in the state over the past decade since she came to power in 2011 will vote for the continuation of these, she told a public gathering that she is counting on them to come out and vote.
There is no denying that women who have benefitted from schemes such as Lakshmi Bhandar and Kanyashree, which are completely centered on helping underprivileged women receive financial assistance and education and eventually get empowered, are happy with the support that they are getting. “These schemes have changed our lives,” says Niyoti Mahato of a village in Jungle Mahal. “Now I receive money in my bank account every month and I get free rice and other ration which really helps.” She says that the regularity is what makes the difference. “It is not that we did not get to eat earlier,” says the wife of a farmer, “But everything depended on many factors like if there was a good crop or not and cash money in hand was never so accessible.”
One of the most popular public distribution schemes for women is the Lakshmi Bhandar Schemed, which allows the female head of the household from underprivileged households in the state to earn a regular, monthly income. According to the official statement announcing this scheme, “There are many household that do not have basic income support so they are not able to finance their day-to-day expenditures. For all those people the government of West Bengal has launched the West Bengal Lakshmi Bhandar Scheme. Through this scheme, the government is going to provide basic income support to the female heads of the family.” “This is one of the best schemes that I have come across,” says Niyoti Mahato, who is the head of the household.
The other female-centric public distribution scheme which has been one of Didi’s most widely-discussed and appreciated is the award-winning Kanyashree scheme. In a village in Jungle Mahal, a young girl, who had received a bicycle as part of the Mamata Banerjee government’s public distribution doles, expressed her gratitude by saying when she is old enough she will vote for Didi.