Former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan’s flagship MP Mukhya Mantri Ladli Behna scheme resulted in gains of at least 30-35 seats spread across at least eight districts of the state for the Bharatiya Janata Party in the recently concluded Assembly elections in the state, an SBI Research report released on Thursday said.

“We estimate that a 1% point increase in the marginalised women targeted (receiving Ladli Behna), has increased the district-wise electoral success rate of the incumbent party by 0.36%. Juxtaposing such into a district-wise electoral success rate, it can be said that every 1 in 8 constituency, on average, had a favorable outcome (pro-incumbency) due to Ladli Behna / 30-35 seats in at least 8 districts,” the report, authored by Soumya Kanti Ghosh, Group Chief Economic Adviser of the State Bank of India, said.

The BJP emerged victorious in 163 of the 230 Assembly seats that went to polls on November 17. Over a week after the elections, the BJP declared Mohan Yadav as its chief ministerial pick for the state, drawing to a close the two-decade-long rule of Shivraj Singh Chouhan.

Chouhan’s ‘Ladli Behna’ scheme has often been dubbed as a game-changer for the BJP following four straight terms of being in power, barring the exception of the 15 months that the Congress ruled the state following the 2018 elections.

As per the SBI Research report, around 70% or around 3.67 lakh of the 5.25 lakh additional women voters in the 2023 elections were attributable to the Ladli Behna scheme. “Furthermore, a 1% increase in target of such marginalised women in a district has resulted into 0.04% increase in additional female voter turnout in 2023. Thus around 70% (~3.67 Lakhs) of additional female voters (~5.25 lakhs) in 2023 MP elections voted are primarily attributable to Ladli Behna scheme…28% success rate in 2018 of the incumbent party in closely contested seats turned into 100% in 2023,” it added.

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Measuring the impact of the scheme on the financial empowerment of women, the report says that Ladli Behna recipients with Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana increased their annual spending at merchant outlets by Rs 9302 as compared to women with PMJDY accounts who were not Ladli Behna beneficiaries.

“Spending Avenues of Control Group (non-Ladli Behna beneficiaries) sample are primarily towards basic amenities, while the spending pattern of Treatment Group (Ladli Behna beneficiaries) sample are more on consumeristic avenues, indicating again that capacity building efforts in empowering the marginalized in terms of enhanced access to banking deposits access is always a self-fulfilling prophecy of empowerment of the masses,” the report states.

Also Read: How to apply for Shivraj Chouhan govt’s ‘Ladli Behna Yojana’? Eligibility and direct link here

The report states that around 60% of the beneficiaries are aged between 25 and 35, with at least 1% of the beneficiaries spending the money in other states. “At least 1% of the beneficiaries spend the money in other states, implying the scheme is now transcending across boundaries. Ladli Ambassadors are now settled in states of Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Gujarat, Haryana, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Odisha, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal and are thus a partner in the growth story of these states…,” it states.

An amount of Rs 1,250 per month (earlier Rs 1,000) is paid to each eligible woman in her Aadhaar-linked DBT-enabled bank account under the scheme. This translates to an annual sum of Rs 15,000 deposited into the bank accounts of eligible women aged 21-60 years old. Around 1.25 crore women, or 30% of the women population in the state are currently eligible for the scheme. The government has so far distributed Rs 2,418 crore under the scheme and is expected to increase its spending further. The Chouhan government had earlier said that it proposes to increase the amount to Rs 3000 per month.