Battleground Maharashtra: MVA promises caste census, Rs 3000 for women, aid for youths

Mumbai: The Maha Vikas Aghadi alliance has promised to bring back the old pension scheme, carry out a caste census in Maharashtra, provide six gas cylinders for women at ₹500 and provide residential power consumers using up to ₹300 units, around 100 units free electricity.

These promises are in addition to the ₹3,000 and ₹4,000 per month for women and unemployed youths respectively announced by the MVA a few days back. At a press conference in Mumbai on Sunday, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge took on PM Narendra Modi for claiming that the caste census was meant to divide castes.

"The caste survey is not meant to divide people. It is meant to see who is at what level so that they can get relief from the government," Kharge said.


The MVA has already promised free bus travel for women earlier. It has now promised ₹1 lakh for girls when they reach 18 years. It has promised free cervical cancer vaccines for girls aged between 9 and 16. The MVA has said that if it comes to power it would begin recruiting 2.5 lakh people for government jobs.

The Mahatma Jyotirao Phule Jan Arogya Yojana, meant for treatment of certain illnesses, will now be applicable for accidents. Small shopkeepers will be charged power at residential rates.

The MVA has also promised to provide loans up to ₹5 lakh at low interest rates.

The MVA has said that it would offer one crore grants to entrepreneurs from OBCs, SCs, STs and Vimukta Jati and Nomadic Tribes communities, also ₹1 crore would be provided for funding in innovative startups.

The opposition alliance has also said that it would "rectify the confusion surrounding Maratha, Dhangar, Muslim reservations" ensuring justice for these groups. For farmers whose crops are damaged for three consecutive years due to drought or natural calamities, their loans would automatically be waived in the fourth year.