Why AAP failed to cash in on promise of ₹2100 to Delhi’s women

After the recent Jharkhand and Maharashtra elections, where financial assistance to women rolled out by their governments were seen as game changers for the ruling parties, the battle for Delhi saw all three political parties— Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Congress— wooing women. However, the ruling AAP, which promised that it would roll out its scheme of ₹2100 for women if it returned to power after elections, seems to have alienated the vote bank it had nurtured ahead of the 2020 Delhi assembly elections with its free bus travel for women.

In mid December, former chief minister and AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal said the Delhi government cabinet had approved the Mahila Samman Yojana, under which ₹1000 will be rolled out with immediate effect for women over 18 eligible under the scheme, while the quantum will be increased to 2100 if the AAP returned to power. But, the first instalment would be credited into the bank account of beneficiaries only after the Delhi assembly polls as the model code of conduct would come into effect once election dates are announced. The elections were announced on January 8. Under the scheme, the beneficiary has to be a Delhi voter, should not be availing benefits under any other government scheme and should not be an income tax payer.

The AAP had announced the scheme when it tabled the 2024-25 budget on March 4. Later, Kejriwal claimed that it was delayed due to his arrest on March 21, in a case linked to the now scrapped Delhi liquor policy. The BJP said it was a ploy to mislead women. Unlike in the case of Delhi, where the financial assistance scheme remained a promise to be delivered after elections, in Maharashtra and Jharkhand, the state governments had rolled out the schemes and the money had reached beneficiaries through direct benefit transfer, days before elections.

Meanwhile, in the run up to the Delhi assembly polls, both BJP and Congress promised a financial assistance of ₹2500 to women. In a tactical narrative aimed at weaning away women from the AAP, the Opposition underscored that the AAP’s liquor policy made alcohol more easily available.

The AAP, which had captured around 60 per cent of the women’s vote share in the 2020 elections, was hoping to further consolidate the vote bank, with women voters becoming increasingly crucial in the country’s electoral politics. Their turnout in Delhi was 60.92 per cent, beating men whose turnout was 60.21 per cent. Of the 70 seats, 41 witnessed an increase in turnout of women voters.

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