In the election year, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has announced a populist budget, wooing women voters at max. In the interim budget, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee-led Bengal government has announced to increase the monthly aid under the Lakshmi Bhandar scheme by Rs 500, marking a crucial shift ahead of the assembly polls. Notably, the scheme can now be seen as a counter to the BJP’s Ladali Behan yojana that yielded positive results for the NDA in states like Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, and Delhi. While the BJP government in these states offers/promised an amount of Rs 1250 in Madhya Pradesh, Rs 1,500 in Maharashtra, and in Delhi, the BJP promised Rs 2,500 for poor women.
In states like Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra, the party has promised to increase the amount up to Rs 2,100. It was speculated that the BJP would promise the scheme in Bengal as well, with an amount of somewhere around Rs 2,000 to Rs 2,500 and thus, Mamata moved first with the Lakshmi Bhandar scheme.
The Lakshmi Bhandar scheme, launched by the West Bengal government, has been providing Rs 1,000 to general category women and Rs 1,200 per month for SC/ST households. With the Rs 500 increase in the amount, the amount goes up to Rs 1,700.
Since the scheme was rolled out in 2021, the increase in the financial assistance is not just a poll move but can also work as a deterrent to the BJP’s Ladali Behan-like scheme if promised by the saffron party.
Notably, Bengal has around 3,76,00,611 female voters and 3,87,93,743 male voters as per the electoral roll published in January 2025. The Lakshmi Bhandar scheme covers around 2.2 crore women.
Over the years, the scheme has expanded significantly and is now among the largest social welfare initiatives in the state, covering over 2.2 crore women. Thus, the increment is a clear attempt to woo the voters ahead of the polls.
In another move, the TMC government also announced to cover gig workers under existing social security schemes like Swasthyasathi. The Bengal government also announced that the wages of Anganwadi workers and Anganwari Sahayaks will be increased by Rs 1,000 from April 2026 onwards.
The interim budget of Rs 4.06 lakh crore was presented in the assembly for the financial year 2026–27. Presenting the budget, State Finance Minister Chandrima Bhattacharya revealed these welfare schemes.
To woo the government employees, the state Finance Minister also announced 4% increase in dearness allowance (DA). The Mamata Banerjee government also announced a new scheme to provide Rs 1,500 monthly financial allowance to unemployed youth for up to five years.
