Anganwadis are the new nerve centre in ‘Mama’ Shivraj’s pre-poll outreach

Afternoon chores done, women pour into the local Anganwadi centre at Bhim Nagar- a low-income shanty town in central Bhopal. While children mill about, mothers take to singing with the rhythmic beating of kartal, a wooden musical instrument that accompanies devotional singing in north India.

The chorus soon settles down to the goings on in life- personal problems, water supply, inflation, and the 'Laadli Behna scheme' under which the Shivraj Singh Chouhan government in Madhya Pradesh is depositing Rs 1,000 every month to the registered bank accounts of 1.25 crore married women from economically weaker sections who meet the eligibility criteria.

If the Chief Minister were to walk fifty-meters walk across the road from his office in Vallabh Bhawan to the Bhim Nagar Anganwadi- he would get direct feedback on his social sector schemes targeting women voters in the state.

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“For a poor woman, Rs. 1,000 every month is a big amount,” says Priyanka Chourasia as women display their eligibility certificates with Modi-Shivraj pictures on the front page.

Her neighbour Sunita Katre, however, wonders if the money is enough to offset the growing inflation.

“Cylinder prices should also be kept under check as the subsidy has been capped”; says Katre who uses six LPG cylinders annually in her household.

With less than 100 days to go before the Election Commission imposes the Model Code of Conduct, Anganwadis - the child care centres run under the Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS) are the nerve centre of Shivraj Singh Chouhan government’s women’s outreach.

Earlier this year, the Asha workers here were deployed to conduct a survey and enumerate and identify the beneficiaries under the scheme. The same mechanism was used to register the eligible women- an elaborate exercise extending over three months.

Two instalments have already been credited to the account, says Fatima, an Asha worker from Idgah Hills in Bhopal.

In a conversation in the evening at his residence on Shymala Hills overlooking the Bhopal Lake, Chouhan says the 'Laadli Behna scheme' should not be seen in isolation but as a part of his concerted effort to empower women.

“In 1990, when I became an MLA, I started helping out families facing challenging circumstances, for weddings. In 2006, as Chief Minster, I introduced the 'Laadli Lakshmi scheme' by making our daughters lakhpati at berth”; says Chouhan who has tried to carefully cultivate an image among women voters as ‘Mama Shivraj’.

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It is apparent, the longest-serving chief minister of Madhya Pradesh saddled with over 18 years of incumbency is once again betting big on the women to hand him a record fifth term in office.

To exploit the chink in the BJP’s armour, Congress has launched its own version of the scheme by promising to increase the monthly payment to Rs. 1,500 per month. Additionally, the party is vowing to provide gas cylinders for Rs 500, free 100 units of electricity, and a 50 per cent rebate on electricity bills for 200 units.

Congress workers have launched a parallel drive to register voters for its schemes forcing Chouhan to make a counter-offer of increasing the amount up to Rs. 3,000 in the future.

About 40 km from Bhopal, Dolly Kushwaha works as an Anganwadi worker at an ICDS centre in Sehore. “Bhooke nahin marenge (one will not die of hunger if Rs 1,000 is credited to account”; she says pointing to a lady who lives alone in the neighbourhood after her two daughters were married off. But Kushwaha is equally worried about the lack of job opportunities in the district after many factories have closed down over the years.

“Men have to migrate to Gujarat and Maharashtra for employment”, she says.

Chouhan says his government is trying to address this issue as well.

“We have launched a new scheme called 'Seekho-Kamao Yojna' under which we are also providing an unemployment dole of Rs. 8,000 to Rs 10,000 to the youth every month”; the Chief Minister adds.

Though Chouhan managed to return to power after defections from the Congress ranks in 2020, the weight of an electoral loss by a difference of less than one per cent vote weighs heavy on Shivraj who ostensibly does not want to leave anything to chance this around.