Congress's Himachal Poll Star Priyanka Now Launches Women-centric Naa Nayaki Scheme in Karnataka

Taking a leaf from the Himachal Pradesh election playbook and buoyant with the win in the northern state, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra made a pre-poll promise of providing Rs 2,000 to every woman in a household per month in Karnataka. With this, the Congress says more than 1.5 crore women will benefit in the state. The party had earlier promised 200 units of free electricity to each household in Karnataka every month.

Priyanka was kickstarting the “Naa Nayaki” (I am a leader) campaign for Mahila Congress at Bangalore Palace grounds. The women-centric announcements are called “Griha Lakshmi Yojana”.

“The amount will directly be credited to the accounts of the woman head of the family. This income for every woman will help them run their household by overcoming the burden of price rise and increase in LPG prices,” she told a large gathering of women.

Priyanka unveiled a cheque replica dated July 1, 2023, in favour of “Women head of every family” in Karnataka for Rs 2,000 per month.

The Congress had launched a similar scheme in Punjab as well but that is yet to see its implementation. Similar programmes were also promised by the Trinamool Congress during the Goa elections and the DMK in the Tamil Nadu assembly elections of 2021 but are yet to be executed.

“In Himachal Pradesh, the Congress had promised Rs 1,500 a month to over 90 lakh women. After its win in the state, a committee has been formed to implement it within a month,” said a party leader on condition of anonymity. “We will ensure that it will be delivered on July 1 across Karnataka.”

Priyanka was a big hit in Ballari when Sonia Gandhi contested from the seat in 1999. The Congress has consistently pushed forward Priyanka as the face of the women’s scheme in all election-bound states. Her announcement is a teaser for an exclusive manifesto for women for the Karnataka elections to be held before mid-May.

The Karnataka BJP targeted the women-oriented scheme launched by Priyanka on Monday as a “fake promise”. It pointed out that this is a promise that could not be implemented in other states. For example, in Chhattisgarh a Rs 2,500 monthly allowance for unemployed young women, and in Rajasthan a Rs 3,500 monthly allowance for unemployed young women, among others, they said.

Just before her landing in the southern state, Karnataka chief minister Basavaraj Bommai took a dig at Priyanka, saying the women of the state are not ready to make her a “Nayaki” (leader).

“One thing I am failing to understand is the title of the programme, Naa Nayaki,” said Bommai. “Today people have to say Naa Nayaki seeing Priyanka’s photo. Such a situation has risen where Priyanka Gandhi has to announce herself as a woman leader,” Bommai said.

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