Delhi elections: AAP links aid scheme with voter deletion, BJP hits back

Arvind Kejriwal said party volunteers will undertake registration for the Mahila Samman Yojana, which aims to provide monthly financial aid of ₹1,000 to women.

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief and former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday said party volunteers will undertake registration for the “Mukhya Mantri Mahila Samman Yojana”—which aims to provide monthly financial aid of ₹1,000 to women—urging potential beneficiaries to check their voter registration status and ensure they are not deleted as only registered voters will be able to avail of the benefits.

For the launch of the initiative, senior party leaders, including Arvind Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia and CM Atishi, will visit different areas of Delhi. (Vipin Kumar/HT Photo)

Besides the financial aid, the “Sanjeevani” scheme will also start Monday, to provide free health care to senior citizens.

Addressing a press conference on Sunday at the party headquarters, Kejriwal said, “The registration for the scheme will start tomorrow, and women don’t have to go anywhere for registration; our volunteers will come to your home and complete the registration. The beneficiaries will need to show their voter identity cards, and all eligible women voters in Delhi will receive the benefits.”

The state unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), however, termed the move “political theatre” and alleged that similar schemes promised by the AAP in Punjab failed to materialise.

In the 2024-25 budget, the Delhi government announced the scheme to provide ₹1,000 per month to all women aged above 18. Kejriwal, on December 12, promised to increase the aid to ₹2,100 if the AAP is voted back into power in the 2025 elections.

For the launch of the initiative, senior party leaders, including Arvind Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia and CM Atishi, will visit different areas of Delhi and help beneficiaries fill registration forms on Monday.

Kejriwal said: “People don’t need to stand in any queue or waste your time. We will come to your doorstep. AAP has set up thousands of teams who will register all women of the house and give them a registration card (Kejriwal Kavach card).”

“We know how hard our mothers and sisters work. They manage the household, working long hours, nurture the children, who are the future of the country, and instil good values while raising them. Many of these mothers and sisters also go out to work jobs. To ease their lives, we announced ₹2,100 aid, which will be deposited to their accounts every month,” he said.

Kejriwal said that the monthly allowance will help women whose education was interrupted after Class 12 due to financial constraints and also homemakers, to manage rising costs.

The AAP chief said that under “Sanjeevani Yojana”, all senior citizens will receive free treatment, whether in private or government hospitals. “We know that no government has ever done anything for the middle class. Many middle-class people spend their entire lives working hard..The biggest worry in old age is treatment if they fall ill. AAP government will take care of your treatment. Its registration will begin tomorrow,” he said.

Kejriwal, linking the benefits to voter lists, urged people to inform AAP volunteers if their names were missing. “I have one request for everyone: to avail these schemes, you need to be a voter in Delhi. Therefore, everyone should ensure that their voter ID is ready. Some people are getting your votes deleted on a massive scale. These people don’t want you to benefit from these schemes. If your vote has been deleted, let our team know, and we will get it reinstated.”

In a post on X, AAP leader Manish Sisodia said: “Registration for Mahila Samman Yojana and Sanjeevani Yojana is starting in Delhi from tomorrow. The launch of the ‘Kejriwal Kavach Card’ is a guarantee of self-respect of every mother, sister and daughter, care of the elderly and secure future of every family.”

Delhi CM Atishi said that around 3.5 to 4 million women are expected to benefit from the ‘Mahila Samman Yojana’. “Similarly, I estimate that around 10 to 15 lakh (1-1.5 million) senior citizens could benefit from the ‘Sanjeevani Yojana’. This is a big step, and I encourage everyone to take full advantage of these schemes.”

The Delhi BJP, however, slammed the AAP’s announcement, terming the schemes “political theatrics”, “a bundle of lies” and “an attempt to mislead people.”

Addressing a press conference, New Delhi MP Bansuri Swaraj said: “Kejriwal has promised ₹2,100 per month for women, but even before the Lok Sabha elections, he had announced ₹1,000 per month for women, filled out forms, and yet didn’t disburse even a single rupee. Kejriwal announced a similar scheme in Punjab in 2022, but until the end of December 2024, no woman in Punjab has received any fund.”

She said the AAP government’s budget is running at a deficit of ₹7,000 crore, making the Sanjeevani scheme an illusion and a strategy to create a vote bank. “Delhi government’s treasury has run dry....AAP has never implemented the Ayushman Bharat Scheme, a welfare scheme by the central government, in Delhi due to his political vendetta. The Sanjeevani scheme is also merely an election stunt.”

South Delhi MP Ramvir Singh Bidhuri said: “The registration starting for both the schemes from Monday is a betrayal to the public. If these are government schemes, then how can AAP workers register them? The lack of official registration means that the public is being fooled.”

Bidhuri said: “It is a betrayal to the public that these schemes are not being announced officially. CM Atishi is present at the time of this announcement but she remains a silent spectator. Similar registration for giving money to women was also done just before the Lok Sabha elections but Kejriwal did not tell where the forms of that registration went after the elections. It is clear that this time also the public is being cheated.”