UP elections: Govt scheme beneficiaries once again do the magic for BJP

The support from beneficiaries of government schemes (Labharthis) has helped BJP win despite the strong caste equations in UP. The free ration, free treatment and cash transfer to farmers and women once again did wonders for the party.

BJP leaders claim there are 15 crore beneficiaries. "The number of labharthis, excluding those who got free Covid-19 vaccines, was roughly 15 crore. In some form or the other, it touched a large number of people," Vivek Thakur, BJP election co-incharge in UP told ET.

As per the BJP, through different government schemes like PM Awas, PM Kisan, Ujjwala, Mudra loans, Ayushman Bharat, state pension schemes, every family got around Rs 3 lakh over the last five years.


"Our government followed the mantra of Sabka Sath, Sabka Vikas and the beneficiaries got their due no matter which caste or religion they belonged to," Swatantra Dev Singh, UP BJP president, told ET.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, during his election speeches, raised the issue of the money never reaching the actual beneficiaries during previous governments. The distribution of one crore tablets among the students just before the elections also helped the party consolidate its youth vote bank.

"When we had no work, Modi gave us food. We never had to sleep without food," Gomti Nishad, a poor woman in Tindwari, had told ET during the campaigning.

In the past few months, BJP leaders connected thrice with the beneficiaries.

Women Support for BJP
The support of the women voters was crucial for the BJP, according to many senior functionaries who were part of the party's election management in UP.

According to the BJP's own assessment, nearly 18% more women voted for the party as compared to men. A senior party functionary said there was a significant differential voting and claimed that the party's internal study showed more women from other backward classes and Dalit communities seem to have voted for the BJP.

Apart from building houses and toilets in the name of women, the BJP had also promised an increase in pension to '1,500 a month, two extra gas cylinders, pink community toilets, scooties and financial assistance to women starting businesses. Free ration and the promise of safety, two dominant themes of the party's campaign, were also targeted at women.

Political scientist Rahul Verma, of the Centre for Policy Research, told ET that women voters are now playing a bigger role in elections than ever before, and PM Narendra Modi’s emotive appeal to women seemed to have an impact on female voters. The BJP used to have a gender disadvantage with women before 2014, but after the Lok Sabha election in 2019, it gained some advantage with women, he said, adding, “In Bihar assembly polls, the advantage was for Nitish Kumar, but BJP gained in Assam too with women’s vote. This time, it is clear that more women seem to have voted for the BJP than men in UP and Uttarakhand.”

The support of the female voters was a combination of three factors, which included the BJP’s welfare schemes such as toilets, houses and free ration, but also the law and order pitch which had both a gender and communal angle, said Verma. “The BJP also managed to push the line that the previous government had endangered the safety of women, and that also mobilised women. More importantly, the gender gap has started narrowing down. While the emotive appeal of the PM imploring women to vote for his party is important, the BJP now also has organisational resources to target women voters more effectively,” he said.