West Bengal elections 2026: Mamata Banerjee's 'Shree' formula runs the political math in the state

Indian politics may run on many engines, but welfare has often been its fuel and Mamata Banerjee was quick to read the road. When she took charge in West Bengal in 2011, she leaned into targeted schemes and turned them into a political mainstay, reshaping how electoral support could be built.

Fifteen years and three terms later, the 71-year-old Chief Minister is once again relying on that approach as she looks to fend off the challenge from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which continues to expand its footprint in the state. The contest, unfolding in phases, has brought her welfare model back into focus at a time when similar strategies are being tested across India.

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‘Lakshmir Bhandar’, the Trinamool Congress government’s flagship welfare push for women, has emerged as a major factor in West Bengal’s electoral arithmetic. The scheme has helped Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, popularly known as “Didi”, consolidate strong support among women voters by offering monthly financial assistance to economically weaker households. After a recent revision, women in the general category receive ₹1,500 per month, while those from Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes get ₹1,700 per month, making the benefit a recurring part of household budgeting for many families.

On the other side of the political divide, the saffron party has attempted to match the pitch with its own promise in the manifesto. It has proposed a higher monthly support of ₹3,000 for women under the “Matri Shakti Vandan Yojana”, signalling a clear counter to the existing welfare structure and positioning the contest around direct cash benefits to women voters.

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This scheme shift is not limited to West Bengal. Research by political scientist Neelanjan Sircar and public policy expert Yamini Aiyar suggests that regional parties linking cash-transfer schemes directly to leadership have managed to cut into the BJP’s support in their respective states. India, they argue, is now in an era of “competitive welfarism”, where parties compete to offer more expansive benefits to voters.

Within this broader trend, Banerjee’s model stands out for its scale and continuity. Apart from ‘Lakshmir Bhandar’, her ‘Shree’ schemes covering citizens from “birth-to-death” have remained central to her political strategy. Many political observers credit these programmes as a key factor behind the TMC returning to power in the 2021 state elections.

Here’s how Mamata Banerjee stitched her wefare schemes playbook into a winning formula, one that has kept her in power and now faces a fresh test in the ongoing elections.

Kanyashree (2013)

Designed to keep girls in classrooms and push back early marriages, the programme links education with direct financial support. It offers an annual grant of ₹1,000 to girls aged 13 to 18 who remain in school and unmarried, followed by a one-time payout of ₹25,000 once they turn 18 and continue in education or work. By tying incentives to life milestones, the scheme created both a social nudge and a financial cushion, an approach that went beyond state boundaries and earned global recognition, including the top spot at the United Nations Public Service Awards in 2017.

Sabooj Sathi (2015)

Another key piece in Banerjee’s welfare mix is the Sabooj Sathi scheme, which swapped policy paperwork for something more visible on the ground—bicycles. Launched in 2015, the programme provides free cycles to students from Classes IX to XII in government and aided schools, aiming to make the daily trip to school easier and keep dropouts in check. Over the years, the scheme has reached millions, with more than 80 lakh bicycles distributed, helping improve access to secondary education while also pushing mobility, especially for girls.

Swasthya Sathi (2016)

Swasthya Sathi was launched on 30 December 2016 by Mamata Banerjee, predating the Centre’s Ayushman Bharat scheme. The TMC has used this timeline to argue that Bengal introduced its own universal health model earlier, while criticising the central scheme for narrower eligibility and limited coverage.

In 2024, TMC MP Derek O’Brien said Ayushman Bharat “was a mere copy of Swasthya Sathi (launched in 2016, two years before the central scheme) and was devoid of the latter's inclusivity,” adding that Bengal’s scheme is fully paperless and cashless with cards issued in women’s names and the full premium paid by the state.

Swasthya Sathi provides up to ₹5 lakh health cover per family annually, includes all pre-existing diseases, has no cap on family size, and extends benefits to dependents with disabilities and parents from both spouses through a smart card system.

Mahatma-Shree (2024)

Bringing together employment and welfare, TMC introduced the Mahatma-Shree initiative by combining multiple labour department schemes. The programme seeks to extend work opportunities by ensuring that those engaged for 20 days in one project can find employment for another 20 days elsewhere.

Addressing a rally earlier, Banerjee said, “Dignity of labour must be respected. No job is inferior.” Alongside this, the state government has outlined plans to train 10 lakh youth in skill development and create around 500 Karma Tirtha marketing hubs, where economically weaker sections can access shops free of cost.

Taken together, Banerjee’s welfare model runs like a full-cycle checklist of governance schemes: ‘Khadya Sathi’ (2016) for food security, ‘Shikshashree’ (2014-15) for school support, ‘Rupashree’ (2018) for marriage assistance, ‘Karmashree’ (2024) for rural jobs, and ‘Yogyashree’ (2024) for competitive exam coaching.