Mandla: The Madhya Pradesh Congress party has unveiled a significant electoral promise in response to Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan’s ambitious Ladli Behna scheme. Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi, during a public meeting in the tribal-dominated Mandla district, announced a pledge to provide financial assistance to school students if the party attains power.
Under this proposed scheme, students in Classes 1 to 8 would receive ₹500 per month, those in Classes 9 and 10 would get ₹1,000 per month, and students in Classes 11 and 12 would be eligible for ₹1,500 per month. The Congress has been proactive in offering a range of electoral guarantees, including monthly financial support to women, access to LPG cylinders at ₹500, the restoration of the old pension scheme for government employees, the waiver of farmers’ loans, 27% reservation for Other Backward Classes (OBCs), free consumption of the first 100 units of power, and a 50% discount on the next 200 units.
A senior Congress leader, speaking anonymously, expressed the party’s frustration with Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan’s strategy of countering their initiatives with his promises. Chouhan introduced the Ladli Behna scheme, providing ₹1,000 per month to women, with plans to increase the amount to ₹3,000 per month. In response to the Congress’s ₹500 LPG scheme, he reduced the price to ₹450.
This approach aimed to create confusion in voters’ minds regarding Congress’s commitment to implementing their schemes. Consequently, the Congress leadership sought to emotionally engage voters through a more compelling scheme, one centred around children, recognizing that for a mother, her child is the most precious gift, thus creating a deeper emotional connection with their policies.