SOPS OPERA

The Mahayuti's victory in Maharashtra could lead to more sops and freebies in upcoming elections

- NACHIKET KELKAR

For most people, Sundays are a time to rest and relax. But Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde was extremely busy last Sunday, celebrating the landslide victory of the Mahayuti alliance in the assembly elections, thanking voters, especially women.

The Mukhya Mantri Majhi Ladki Bahin Yojana, which pays ₹1,500 per month to underprivileged women, has been one of the major reasons behind the Mahayuti's resounding success. So far, around 2.5 crore women have received five instalments under the scheme. On Sunday, Shinde announced that as promised in the Mahayuti's manifesto, women covered under the scheme would now get ₹2,100 a month.

While beneficiaries will celebrate the additional money coming their way, it is certainly going to add to the pressure on the state's finances.

"For Maharashtra, fiscal pressure will intensify in the near term-the implementation of pre-poll promises to raise Ladki Bahin aid to ₹2,100, implying annualised budgetary increase of 40 per cent to ₹64,400 crore from 46,000 crore, with Maharashtra's FY2025 budget likely bearing ₹7,000-9,000 crore additional cost," said Madhavi Arora, lead economist at Emkay Global Financial Services.

The Mahayuti has also promised to increase the amount for farmers under the Shetkari Samman Yojana to ₹15,000 annually from ₹12,000.