Congress promises ₹2500 monthly allowances to women if party wins Delhi polls

The Congress said that its government in Karnataka has already started providing ₹2,000 monthly allowance to women and it will provide similar allowance in Delhi when it forms government in Delhi

The Congress on Monday promised ₹2500 monthly allowances to women in Delhi if the party wins the 2025 assembly elections. Earlier, the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) had promised ₹2,100 monthly allowances to women, if it is voted to power for the fourth consecutive term.

Karnataka deputy chief minister DK Shiv Kumar, Congress Delhi president Devender Yadav and other party leaders announce the party’s poll promise at the Delhi Congress office on Monday. (Sanchit Khanna/Hindustan Times)

Congress leader and Karnataka deputy chief minister D K Shivkumar and Delhi Congress chief Devender Yadav unveiled what the party called the ‘Pyari Didi Yojana’ at a press conference at the Delhi Congress office and said that the monthly allowances will enable the women to fight high inflation caused by a “useless government.”

“The Congress government in Karnataka has already started providing ₹2,000 monthly allowance to women in Karnataka. Similarly, we will also provide the allowance in Delhi when the Congress forms the government,” said Yadav.

The Congress has so far announced 48 candidates for the 70 assembly constituencies in Delhi, and the rest of the candidates are likely to be announced soon.

On December 18, AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal had announced that the Delhi cabinet approved a scheme to provide monthly financial assistance of ₹1,000 to poor women in the national capital, adding that the payout was slated to be raised to ₹2,100 after the 2025 assembly elections.

This came roughly three weeks after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA)’s victory in the Maharashtra elections and the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM)-led INDIA bloc’s win in the Jharkhand elections were attributed largely to women-focused cash transfer schemes.

Assembly elections for the 70 seats of Delhi are likely in February this year as the term of the current assembly is set to expire on February 23.

The schedule of the polls is likely to be announced soon.

In 2020, the AAP won 62 and the BJP 8 seats in the 70-member Delhi assembly. At present, the AAP holds 58 seats, as four of its members have either resigned or been disqualified, and the BJP has seven after sitting BJP MLA from Badarpur Ramvir Singh Bidhuri resigned in June after he was elected to the Lok Sabha from south Delhi.