BJP Weighs Cash Aid Scheme For Women Ahead Of UP Polls As Akhilesh Promises ₹40,000 Assistance

Lucknow: The BJP government in Uttar Pradesh is considering a financial assistance scheme for women ahead of the 2027 Assembly elections, setting the stage for a direct contest over women voters between the BJP-led NDA and the Samajwadi Party-led INDIA bloc.

People familiar with the matter said the proposed scheme could provide up to Rs 50,000 to eligible women, with an initial payment of Rs 20,000 followed by three installments of Rs 10,000 each if the NDA returns to power. The proposal is being considered on the lines of financial assistance schemes announced by governments in Bihar, Delhi, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra.

The BJP is particularly looking at women from economically weaker sections, lower-income households and Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribe and Below Poverty Line families. The eligibility criteria are still being finalised, but families with annual incomes in the Rs 8 lakh to Rs 12 lakh range are likely to be considered, the sources said.

Uttar Pradesh Finance Minister Suresh Kumar Khanna, however, did not confirm the proposed amount or payment structure.

Asked whether the government was planning a financial assistance scheme for women before the Assembly elections, Khanna said women’s empowerment remained a priority of the BJP-led government.

“If there is a demand from women organisations, the state government will definitely consider it and take required measures in that direction,” he said.

“In its election manifesto, the BJP had made it clear the government would work for the economic and social uplift of women,” Khanna said.

Women account for 45.46% of Uttar Pradesh’s electorate, according to the final electoral roll published by the Election Commission on April 10 after the Special Intensive Revision. The state has 13.39 crore voters, including 6.09 crore women, 7.31 crore men and 4,206 third-gender voters. There are also 17.63 lakh first-time voters aged 18 to 19.

Khanna cited existing government programmes to underline the BJP’s record on women’s welfare. “The state government has launched a slew of schemes, including Mukhyamantri Kanya Sumangala Yojana, Rani Lakshmibai Mahila Evam Bal Samman Kosh, Mukhyamantri Samuhik Vivah Yojana, Women Self Help Groups, Lakhpati for the economic empowerment of the women,” he said.

Under the Kanya Sumangala scheme, around 28 lakh women have benefited, while Rs 25,000 is provided in six installments for girls’ education, he said.

“We have been working for women empowerment since the formation of the BJP government in 2017 in UP. We are giving Rs 1 lakh to women under Mukhyamantri Samuhik Vivah Yojana,” Khanna added.

Akhilesh Yadav has renewed his own promise of annual financial assistance for women if the SP returns to power. In a post on X on Thursday, the SP president described the reported BJP proposal as another hollow election slogan and said his party would provide women Rs 40,000 a year initially, with the amount increased every year.

Yadav accused the BJP of relying on money to win elections and alleged that the funds being offered were “ill-gotten gains” that women in Uttar Pradesh would not accept. He also claimed that similar schemes in other states had resulted in delayed payments, recovery demands and police action against women who were unable to repay money.

Yadav argued that the BJP government could have provided financial assistance to women during its decade in power but instead spent thousands of crores on publicity.

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He said Rs 50,000 a year over 10 years would amount to Rs 5 lakh and argued that even a Rs 20,000 payment would cover only a fraction of what women could have received.

Yadav had first announced in December 2025 that an SP government would provide Rs 40,000 annually to poor women if the party returned to power in Uttar Pradesh.

With both parties now putting cash assistance and women’s economic empowerment at the centre of their political messaging, the issue is likely to become a major campaign plank as Uttar Pradesh moves towards the 2027 Assembly election.