India’s political parties woo women voters with cash handouts amid economic woes

A greater turnout of women voters in the past decade is pushing political parties to compete to attract them

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Voters queue up to cast their ballots at a polling station during the fifth phase of voting in India’s general election, in Thiksey of Ladakh. Photo: AFP

Published: 4:54pm, 13 Nov 2024

Indian political parties are increasingly targeting women voters with fiscally draining handouts of cash around the time of elections to counter wider worries about inflation and the lack of jobs, analysts say.

A greater turnout of women voters in the past decade has reversed a trend of men easily outnumbering women. Political parties have competed to attract them, even as inflation hit a 14-month peak in October and unemployment stays high, at 8.9 per cent.

Regional governments run by both Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s party and the opposition are offering or planning such efforts to lure about a fifth of India’s estimated 670 million women, the economic research division of Axis Bank says.

“This is a substantial burden on the exchequer,” its chief economist, Neelkanth Mishra, said in a report. “Where is the funding coming from? Some from higher deficits.”

A voter walks past a security personnel after casting her ballot at a polling station in India’s Ghaziabad. Photo: AFP

Budgeted deficits for the current fiscal year for nearly all Indian states unveiling handouts for women were higher than five years ago, with many cutting capital expenditure to fund the populist measures.