Why Congress launched 'Laapataa Ladies' campaign ahead of Maharashtra polls
What's the story
Ahead of the Maharashtra elections, the Congress has launched the 'Laapataa Ladies' campaign, named after Kiran Rao's film, to highlight the government's handling of women's safety under Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.
Posters across the state feature the phrase "Laapataa Ladies" along with the message in Marathi: "64,000 women missing in a year."
Silhouettes resembling Chief Minister Shinde, Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, and Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar are also prominently displayed.
Context
Why does this story matter?
Elections are set to take place later this year, with the Mahayuti alliance, which currently governs Maharashtra, facing a challenge from the opposition coalition, Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA).
The MVA comprises the Congress, the Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar), and Shiv Sena (UBT) led by former Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray.
In the last Lok Sabha elections, the MVA won 30 out of 48 seats in Maharashtra and led in 153 assembly constituencies, compared to Mahayuti's 126.
Campaign focus
'Laapataa Ladies' campaign targets Fadnavis over women's safety
The Congress campaign follows the sexual abuse case involving two schoolgirls in Badlapur, Maharashtra, last month.
The campaign focuses particularly on Deputy CM Fadnavis, who is responsible for the Home department.
In August of last year, while addressing the Assembly, Fadnavis noted that 10% of women who go missing in the state never return home.
Earlier statement
What Fadnavis had said in assembly
Fadnavis had said, "Women's safety is a cause of concern for the country. In Maharashtra, around 64,000 girls and women go missing every year and during Covid in 2019 and 2020 the number was the same."
"In 2021, 61,000 cases were registered. 87% of them have returned home, while in 2022, 86% of the missing girls and women have returned. We have been taking steps to bring this percentage down," he had added.
Election strategy
State government's initiative for women voters
The Congress is now using this same figure to criticize the Mahayuti government for its record on women's safety.
Additionally, in a bid to woo women voters, the state government has rolled out the "Majhi Ladki Bahin Yojana" in response to the Congress's campaign.
Under this scheme, eligible women aged between 21 and 65 years will receive a monthly stipend of ₹1,500 if their family's income is below ₹2.5 lakh.