BJP, Congress woo women voters with gas subsidies, cash handouts in 5 poll-bound states

livemint.com:

World Cup fever, the season of the election has also begun in five Indian states. Both the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress have ramped up outreach to women voters who will be playing a crucial role in determining the outcomes of the Lok Sabha election due in 2024. The manifestos are clear evidence that both parties have kept women electors in mind, promising gas connection subsidies, and extra cash handouts among others.

Interestingly, the women electors have outnumbered male voters in three of the five poll-bound states as per the data by the Election Commission of India. Women voters are higher as compared to their male counterparts in poll-bound Telangana (1.63 crore women voters vs 1.62 crore male voters), Chhattisgarh (1.02 crore women voters vs 1.01 crore male voters), and Mizoram (3.49 lakh women voters vs 3.36 lakh male voters). On the other hand, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh are significant states for both parties as they account for 25 and 29 Lok Sabha seats, respectively.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led BJP successfully shepherded through Parliament legislation to reserve one-third of seats of Lok Sabha and Assembly elections for women. While the Bill will take several years to be implemented, the party has boasted the revolutionary Bill in every election rally in the five states. Besides, learning from the mistakes in the Karnataka Assembly election, the saffron party is wooing voters across classes.