In the narrow lanes of Mumbai’s Govandi Shivaji Nagar slum, the smell of soap mingles with the humid afternoon air as women go about their daily routines of washing and cleaning. Among them is Savitra, perched on the steps outside her house, scrubbing utensil after utensil. But there’s caution not only in her use of soap but also other essentials – a result of the soaring prices.

“Look at the prices of soap, oil, and rice. They have shot up so much that it is becoming impossible to manage our households. Oil alone cost Rs 150 during Diwali,” said Savitra, adding that her family now cooks food to last for two or three meals to cut down on costs.

As a beneficiary of the Mukhyamantri Majhi Ladki Bahin Yojna, Savitra has been receiving Rs 1,500 every month since August, when the state government rolled out the scheme to support low-income women aged between 21 and 60. The policy, touted as a “game changer”, came after the BJP-led alliance’s poor performance in the Maharashtra Lok Sabha elections and just three months ahead of the assembly polls. 

Through ads and speeches, the scheme has taken centrestage in campaigns by the Mahayuti alliance, comprising the BJP, Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena, and Ajit Pawar’s NCP, which is predominantly pitted against the Congress, Uddhav Thackeray’s Shiv Sena, and Sharad Pawar’s NCP. 

But locals in Mumbai question the effectiveness of the scheme in the face of surging inflation. For many like Savitra, the scheme alone will not secure their vote for the alliance.

She told Newslaundry, “What use do we have of the money when prices have shot up so much? They should instead reduce prices of essential goods. I will vote for whoever brings down the costs.” 

Newslaundry spoke to the women in Govandi Shivaji Nagar and Nehru Nagar – two of the city’s largest slums. 

Shivaji Nagar: ‘What can change in today’s world with Rs 1,500?’

When asked if her life changed with the financial aid provided under the Ladki Behna scheme, Sakina Khan, 40, responded with a firm “no”. 

“What can change in today’s world with Rs 1,500?” Sakina asked. “It will barely last 2-3 days. Instead of this, they should have reduced prices of essential goods, it would have been much better. If they are giving money, they are taking money also.”

She said there was no scope to use that money to buy something for herself. “That money only goes in rations. When you spend it, it is like spending Rs 50. We don’t even know who to vote for, as parties don’t come to the slum areas here and do any work. They don’t help poor people. So why should we help them?”

Govandi Shivaji Nagar, a densely populated slum where over 50 percent of residents are Muslim, comes under the Mankhurd Shivaji Nagar assembly constituency. It will record a contest between MVA candidate and incumbent MLA Abu Azmi of the Samajwadi Party, Nawab Malik of Ajit Pawar’s NCP, and Suresh Patil from Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena.

Kanta Nadar, in her 40s, a local social worker, told Newslaundry that in line with the Ladki Behna scheme, the MVA also announced that they would give a monthly handout of Rs 3,000 to women if they came to power. But neither this nor Ladki Behna would decide her vote. 

Nadar said, “We are not sold out that we will vote for anyone just because of the money. It’s about who will do good work. I, in fact, convinced many women to register for Ladki Behna by telling them it is our tax payers money that is coming back to us. It’s not like politicians don’t do any good work at all. They do, but very rarely it is for the poor.”

She said her income, which used to last two months, now barely covers two weeks. “By mid-month, we’re broke. This is true for every household. The cost of essentials like oil hasn’t just doubled, they’ve tripled.” 

The social worker also raised the issue of communal tensions and said that the MVA would not discriminate. “The atmosphere has become so bad these days, with communal tensions. Hindus, Muslims, and Christians, all communities should be taken forward together. We can’t forget all this just for money.”

Another local social worker, Farmida Thakur, 45, said she is “so worn out from the inflation” that she doesn’t want to vote. 

“They don’t do anything for the middle class or the poor. Inflation is so high. Why should we vote?” she asked. “They’ve given us money under the scheme, but they take so much. Even garlic is worth Rs 100. It would make a lot more difference if they reduced prices or provided jobs.”

Sangita Natwar, 31, said, “I’d rather not get the money and have the prices reduced for goods like oil, rice, and wheat. What used to cost Rs 5,000 is now Rs 8,000.”

Out of the 40 women who spoke to Newslaundry in Shivaji Nagar and Nehru Nagar, over half said they had applied for the scheme but did not receive the money. Many had reapplied but were told that the issue would be looked into after elections. 

In Nehru Nagar, ‘BJP supporter’ irrespective of scheme  

“Nothing has changed in two decades, except the open gutter being covered. Politicians don’t even bother to come inside our lanes,” said Vandana Patil, who’s lived in Nehru Nagar since she got married 21 years ago. She pointed to the garbage-strewn roads and water shortage “for four months” this year. 

A domestic worker, Vandana earns Rs 4,000 per month and is enrolled under the Ladki Behna scheme. She said her husband earns only a little more than her, and with the expenses involved in raising two children, the price rise is hitting them hard. “For the first time, someone is actually giving us money, so this is a good thing. But the inflation is such that we don’t even come to know where the money is going. Skipping meals and eating less is normal for us these days.” 

Vandana said she has been an ardent supporter of Shiv Sena UBT, but her loyalty will be put to the test because of the party’s alliance with the Congress. “I like Uddhav Thackeray, but I don’t like Congress,” she said, but didn’t explain further. 

Nehru Nagar, which accommodates about 1.5 lakh households from different communities, is surrounded by affluent societies in Juhu and Vile Parle and falls under the Andheri West constituency. 

Ameet Satam, the incumbent MLA and Mahayuti candidate, has been in power for the last decade and is seeking a third term. His main opponent is Ashok Jadhav from Congress, the Andheri West MLA from 2009 to 2014. 

While Satam has a good track record, many locals complain about water shortage, high electricity bills, and dirty roads. 

For Pushpa Silvaran Devendra, 50, the main issue is her steep electricity bill that goes up to a whopping Rs 14,000 per month. “We’ve complained, but no one comes and fixes the metre or replaces it for us. How do I pay this amount every month?” 

Pushpa has a shop in the neighbourhood and said that redevelopment promises were made 30 years ago, but nothing has been done. On the Ladki Behna scheme, she said, “Whatever money you give to the poor comes in handy. I’m worried that they might close the scheme after the elections. Prices of vegetables and essentials are so high that it is difficult to get by.”

Sunita Gupta, who works with an insurance company, said Rs 1,500 is “barely anything these days, but something is better than nothing”. While inflation and lack of electricity connection affect her, she said she has been a loyal BJP voter. “They do good work.”

Mariammal Devendra was one of the few women in the slums who seemed happy with the scheme. “It has helped a lot, especially during Diwali. It helps with rent, buying something for the kids, rations, and the electricity bills, which are unusually high of late.”

Parveen Shaikh, a community worker in Shivaji Nagar, who works for the rights of slum and pavement dwellers, said the money has given women a sense of agency. 

“Women are very happy that they now have their own personal bank account. Earlier, most of them only had joint accounts with their husbands,” said Shaikh, who helped over 200 women from the slum register for the scheme. “The cash handout has led many of them to feel that they now have agency. It is their own money, and they can go eat falooda, paani puri, or buy something for themselves or their children instead of having to ask their husbands for money. More than looking at it as a cash handout, they know this is their tax money coming back to them.”

The schemes such as Ladki Behna Yojana are “usually effective to appeal to the undecided voters, which Maharashtra has a lot of,” political analyst Amitabh Tiwari told Newslaundry. “Since cash transfers schemes are tangible, they have more of an immediate impact on the voter.”

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