Clash of cash: How BJP, SP sops for women are shaping the 2027 Uttar Pradesh polls

Let's start with the numbers. Uttar Pradesh has close to 15 crore voters, of which nearly 7 crore are women. In the 2022 elections, women turned out in large numbers, with higher voter participation than men, even though men outnumbered women on the voters' list.

Of the 62.22 per cent of women electors, most cast their votes, and most of them voted for the BJP. That was a key factor in Yogi Adityanath becoming the first Uttar Pradesh CM in three decades to win a second consecutive term for any party.

Now, with polls approaching, both the BJP and the Samajwadi Party (SP) are competing to outdo each other. The contest has moved from bus tickets to direct bank transfers.

The Yogi government moved first, through a number of welfare schemes aimed at women. CM Yogi Adityanath had already announced free bus travel for women above 60. Around Raksha Bandhan, the state extended free bus travel to all women for three days, with one accompanying family member also allowed to travel free. This is in addition to schemes such as Mission Shakti and Kanya Sumangala.

Now, a larger scheme is being considered. The government is working on a proposal to give women up to ₹50,000 each. Under the plan, ₹20,000 would be given before the election, followed by three instalments of ₹10,000 if the BJP returns to power. The money is intended to support self-employment and financial independence among economically weaker women.

Akhilesh Yadav's response came soon after. Standing with the SP's women leaders, he announced the 'Stree Samman Samriddhi' scheme, promising an annual pension of ₹40,000 for women if the SP forms the government. The amount would increase each year for five years.

He also promised laptops for girls who cleared their Class 12 examinations and a separate ambulance service for women. He accused the BJP of making promises to women without fulfilling them.

The scheme has since been given a formal name, the Nari Samriddhi Samman Yojana. Under it, poor women would receive ₹40,000 a year directly in their bank accounts. That is more than twice the roughly ₹1,500 a month offered under similar schemes in Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra.

The SP's promise is part of the wider Pichda, Dalit and Alpsankhyak (PDA) strategy that Akhilesh has built for the 2027 elections. The pension is aimed at women from these groups. This allows the SP to present the ₹40,000 payment as part of its broader social coalition, rather than as a standalone welfare promise.

The BJP is taking a different approach. Its pitch is based on welfare schemes already delivered by the government and the trust built around them. The party is betting that women who have already received benefits will be more likely to support it again. Yogi's biggest selling point is handling law and order to ensure women feel safe on the road.

Predictably, both parties are focusing heavily on women. Recent state elections offer a clear reason, as in Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Jharkhand and Bihar, parties that put money directly into women's hands have benefitted at the polls.

Bihar offers the latest example. The state recorded its highest-ever turnout, with female turnout at 69 per cent against 61.5 per cent for males in the first phase. In the second phase, female turnout rose to 74 per cent, compared with 64 per cent among men.

Analysis of the results showed that the NDA performed particularly strongly in constituencies where female turnout was high. This was influenced by direct payments into their accounts ahead of the polls.

But Bihar also offers a warning for Akhilesh, as a promised benefit is not the same as money already reaching voters. In Delhi, the AAP lost despite promising a monthly payment to women that had not been made before polling. For a party in the Opposition, this is a serious disadvantage. Akhilesh can promise a payment for 2027, but Yogi's government can deliver welfare benefits before voters go to the polls, as per feedback from observers.

The reason both parties are targeting women is simple: arithmetic. Women are voting in larger numbers and are becoming an increasingly important electoral group.

Direct financial benefits can also create a stronger connection between welfare delivery and voting behaviour than broader appeals based only on caste or identity.

For the BJP, retaining the gains it made among women in 2022 is important to defending Yogi's record. For the SP, making inroads among these voters is essential to its attempt to return to power after a decade in the Opposition.