Within hours of taking office as Maharashtra’s new Chief Minister, Devendra Fadnavis declared that his government would be reviewing the popular Ladki Bahin Yojna.
Fadnavis stated that one of the first actions of his government will be to review the list of beneficiaries and remove those who are ineligible. “There have been complaints about beneficiaries not meeting the required criteria, and their eligibility must be checked. The scheme will not be completely scrapped, but the review will be similar to the PM Kisan Yojana, where ineligible beneficiaries voluntarily gave up their benefits,” he explained.
He also mentioned that the proposal to increase the payout from Rs 1,500 to Rs 2,100 per woman, as promised in their manifesto, will be implemented starting from the next financial year. Currently, Maharashtra has over 24.3 million beneficiaries of the Ladki Bahin Yojana, under which a monthly cash benefit of Rs 1,500 is credited to the beneficiaries’ accounts, costing the state Rs 3,700 crore per month.
Fadnavis’s predecessor and newly sworn-in Deputy Chief Minister, Eknath Shinde, stated at a separate press briefing that he and other government officials had instructed the bureaucracy to immediately transfer the December installment into the beneficiaries’ accounts. “The scheme played a crucial role in our electoral success and will not be scrapped,” he emphasized. The November installment was paid in October due to the election code of conduct coming into effect the following month.
In his first press briefing as Chief Minister, Fadnavis also addressed the possibility of a caste-based survey, as demanded by the Congress party. He clarified that his government was not opposed to the idea. “We supported the caste-based survey in Bihar and are not against it. However, it should not be misused, as it negatively impacts the micro OBCs. There must be clarity on the purpose of conducting such a survey,” he said.
When asked whether his government would allow the Opposition to have a Leader in the Assembly, given they do not have the required 10% of the total seats, Fadnavis stated that the decision would be made by the Speaker. “In the Lok Sabha, there was no Opposition leader for 10 years, but the largest opposition party was still granted the protocol and statutory powers it deserved,” he noted.
Amid reports of tension among Mahayuti allies over portfolio allocation, Fadnavis confirmed that discussions regarding the portfolios are nearly complete and will be announced before the Winter Session of the State Assembly, which begins on December 16 in Nagpur.
“Portfolio distribution has been almost finalised and all the issues have been sorted. In a coalition government there is a process of consultation… Some issues need to be fine tuned. We have finalised the number of cabinet ministers for each party along with the portfolios they will get,” he said.
Fadnavis also said that the Mahayuti government will not go for political vendetta and that he “respects” the opposition, despite their numbers.
Stating that his government will not be a “20-20 match but a Test match” and all promises made in the manifesto will be fulfilled, Fadnavis said that the government will ensure that the state leads in infrastructure, agriculture and industrial development.
He further said that when he requested Ekanth Shinde to accept the Deputy Chief Minister’s post, the Shiv Sena chief immediately accepted it and “was not upset at all.”