Nagpur: The timing of the Maharashtra Government’s Ladki Bahin welfare payout, scheduled barely 24 hours before civic polls, has triggered a fierce political storm, raising uncomfortable questions about the thin line between governance and electioneering.
As the State prepares to credit two months’ instalments under the Mukhyamantri Majhi Ladki Bahin Yojana on January 14, the eve of municipal corporation elections, the scheme has moved from welfare discourse to the centre of an ethical and legal debate. While the ruling Mahayuti insists the payments are routine and non-negotiable, the opposition Congress has flagged the move as a potential violation of the Model Code of Conduct (MCC).
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12 Jan 2026
Revenue Minister and Nagpur District Guardian Minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule, responding to the controversy, dismissed objections as politically motivated and warned against linking welfare delivery to electoral calendars. Addressing the media during the release of the BJP’s Nagpur city manifesto, he maintained that the Ladki Bahin scheme is a continuous programme that predates the civic polls and applies statewide, not selectively to poll-bound cities.
“The benefits of lakhs of women cannot be frozen because elections are announced in some urban bodies,” Bawankule argued, asserting that delaying payments would amount to denying beneficiaries their due entitlement.
However, the opposition sees the issue less as welfare delivery and more as strategic timing. The Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) has formally approached the State Election Commission (SEC), objecting to the release of Rs 3,000 per beneficiary, covering December 2025 and January 2026 instalments, on the eve of voting. The Congress contends that such a move, especially on a festival day like Makar Sankranti, could sway voters and undermine the spirit of the MCC.
In its submission to the SEC, the MPCC stopped short of opposing the scheme itself, but termed the last-minute disbursement a “collective inducement,” urging the Commission to direct the government to defer the payout until polling concludes.
The ruling dispensation, however, has pushed back strongly, accusing Congress of selectively invoking electoral ethics. Bawankule alleged that the party has consistently attempted to obstruct the Ladki Bahin scheme since its launch, including through legal challenges. He argued that halting an already due instalment for nearly 2.5 crore women beneficiaries would cause real financial distress and set a dangerous precedent of suspending welfare for political convenience.
Adding to the attack, Nagpur BJP City President Dayashankar Tiwari questioned why only the Ladki Bahin scheme was being flagged when other social security payouts, such as Sanjay Gandhi Niradhar, Shravanbal and disability assistance, continue uninterrupted despite elections. He accused Congress of singling out a women-centric programme while remaining silent on other ongoing welfare disbursements.
As the SEC examines the complaint, the controversy has exposed a deeper fault line: whether welfare schemes should remain insulated from electoral scrutiny, or whether timing itself can transform governance into campaign messaging. With funds set to be credited just a day before voting, the Ladki Bahin scheme has become more than a benefit transfer, it has emerged as a test case for the enforcement of the Model Code of Conduct amid an increasingly welfare-driven political landscape.
