Harsimrat Kaur Badal stood before a crowd in Bathinda on Monday and attacked the Bhagwant Mann government’s latest pitch to women. The Akali MP dismissed the proposed 'Mawan Dheeyan Satkar' scheme not as empowerment, but as a desperate attempt to buy votes with change. She claimed the AAP had previously promised ₹60,000 to women but is now offering just ₹3,000. "The women of Punjab will never be enticed by such skulduggery," she told the assembly.
The counter-offer from the SAD is sharper and darker. It centers on the drug crisis that has bled families dry across the state. Badal highlighted the 'Mai Bhago Di Fauj,' a women-led initiative currently mapping drug peddlers and their protectors. The promise is concrete: if the SAD returns to power in 2027, a special task force will take this intel and act. The head of this force? A woman DGP. No more hiding behind bureaucracy.
This isn't just policy; it’s a message to the mothers who have lost sons to addiction. Badal cited specific cases of women who buried multiple children, framing the drug menace as a personal betrayal by the current administration. By linking financial aid with a hardline security stance, the SAD is trying to reframe the narrative from money to safety. It’s a classic pivot, but one that resonates in rural Punjab where the crackle of a joint is a daily reality for many households.
The 2027 assembly elections are already heating up, and women voters are the prize neither side can afford to lose. The AAP leans on direct cash transfers; the SAD leans on legacy and law and order. The next few months will see this contest intensify, with every district getting a similar treatment. For now, the ball is in the court of the voters who are tired of both empty promises and empty streets.