Assembly Election 2026: Mamata Banerjee vs MK Stalin vs Himanta Sarma: Who is wi ...
A common trend witnessed across the four poll-bound states — West Bengal, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Assam — and the Union Territory of Puducherry reveals a sharp increase in ‘spending’ ahead of the April 2026 vote. Offering cash benefits has become one of the most popular ways, with states stepping up allocations targeted at women voters. Often, the “uncompromising on welfare” approach has led to outstanding liabilities, inviting political criticism that poll-bound states are fiscally irresponsible.
Leading the pack is West Bengal, the ‘welfare heavyweight,’ which has consistently remained at the top of the list for high-intensity electoral spending.
Tamil Nadu has similarly embraced ‘revdi’ politics with universal welfare schemes, such as free bus travel for women and school breakfast programs. Its neighbour, Kerala, has focused more on social security pensions and kits rather than flashy consumer goods. Meanwhile, the Himanta Biswa Sarma government in Assam has spent heavily on infrastructure and the ‘Orunodoi’ direct benefit transfer scheme.
In Puducherry, the N. Rangasamy-led government has been implementing welfare schemes on a steady schedule since the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) assumed office in 2021.”
While critics label these moves as ‘fiscal profligacy,’ a closer look at the RBI’s Study of State Budgets suggests a more nuanced reality: many of these states are expanding welfare while simultaneously narrowing their debt-to-GSDP ratios.
West Bengal
Led by Trinamool Congress government under Mamata Banerjee, West Bengal has consistently been at the top of the list for high-intensity electoral spending. ‘Didi’ has consistently doled out cash handouts for women voters with schemes like Lakshmir Bhandar scheme.
In the 2026-27 Budget, released just two months before the April elections, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s government raised monthly assistance under the Lakshmir Bhandar scheme by ₹500. Until now, women aged 25-60 from SC/ST categories were receiving ₹1,200 per month, while those from other categories received ₹1,000.
“The rise demonstrates the state’s commitment to funding ongoing programmes while managing election-year financial pressures… The estimates reflect a balance between welfare commitments and fiscal management,” Chandrima Bhattacharya, state Finance Minister, said on the ₹4.06 Lakh Crore Budget.
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Last week (March 20), Trinamool Congress released its people-centric manifesto, centred around “Didi’s 10 pledge” – a mix of welfare and development promises. Besides the Lakshmir Bhandar scheme – which now takes monthly support to Rs 1,500 for general category women and Rs 1,700 for SC/ST beneficiaries, the Mamata Banerjee-led ruling party has promised to continue a Rs 1,500 monthly allowance for unemployed youth under Banglar Yuba-Sathi. Her party has announced to roll out a Rs 30,000 crore agriculture budget to support farmers, including the landless farmers.
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Calling Banerjee a “political phenomenon that is unique in South Asia”, TMC’s Rajya Sabha MP Sagarika Ghose, in an interview with news agency PTI, described the Trinamool Congress chief as “a 24×7 politician, in touch with her people”. “After three terms, some amount of anti-incumbency at the local level is natural. But there is no such sentiment against her as a chief minister. She is the only person of recourse in the state. People know they can turn to her in times of difficulty and she will sort things out,” Ghose, who has been named one of the TMC’s star campaigners for the polls, said.
The welfare schemes, however, have caused a strain on the states’ finances. According to Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Study of State Budgets 2025, West Bengal has the highest share of debt in GSDP at 39% as per Fiscal 2025-26 Budget Estimates. This was, however, down by 4.7 percentage points from 2021.
Tamil Nadu
In February, MK Stalin-led DMK government paid Rs 5,000 each to 1.31 crore women under the Kalaignar Magalir Urimai Thogai scheme. The move, Chief Minister Stalin later said in a video message, was made to “overcome the attempts to halt the monthly transfers ahead of Assembly elections”.
“The was trying to stop the scheme for three months by hiding behind elections. Our Dravidian model government thwarted their designs,” Stalin said, adding that beneficiaries would face strain in their budget to arrange expenses for medicines, children’s education, and household if the Rs 1,000 monthly assistance was interrupted once the Model Code of Conduct came into force.
Over the last five years, the DMK government has spent more than ₹4 lakh crore on welfare programmes and social support measures.
https://images.financialexpressdigital.com/2026/03/image_81508e.png?w=440With the Assembly election set for April 23, political commentators have started debating whether Tamil Nadu continue such a welfare model without pushing future generations into deeper debt.
“It’s ironic welfare schemes implemented in TN are portrayed as fiscally irresponsible, senior DMK leader and Finance Minister Thangam Thennarasu said in an interview to The Hindu, adding that even economists and development experts across the world have recognised that direct transfer stimulates local and rural economies through increased consumption.
With the assembly election less than a month away, “electoral gifts” and high-value manifestos are being increasingly seen in the state. Former chief minister and AIADMK chief Edappadi K Palaniswami, in his ‘first dose’ of the party manifesto, announced Rs 2,000 a month for women who head ration card-holding families and the extension of free bus travel to men.
According to data in the RBI State of State Finances report, Tamil Nadu’s debt stood at 29.2% of the GSDP.
Kerala
The Kerala government has allocated ₹3,720 crore for the Chief Minister’s Sthree Suraksha Scheme. Launched in December last year, the Sthree Suraksha Scheme provides ₹1,000 per month to economically backward women and trans women.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan described the initiative as a move to end “financial dependency,” ensuring women can live with dignity without relying on others for basic needs.
Welfare schemes like Kudumbashree – launched in 1998 as part of the State Poverty Eradication Mission – has benefitted over 48 lakh (4.8 million) women in the state.
https://images.financialexpressdigital.com/2026/03/image_b8feea.png?w=583Bhaskar English, quoting Sociologist, researcher, and Professor Dr Sunil P Eladiam at Kalady Sanskrit University, reported that the LDF government, through various schemes, including the cash-transfer scheme for women launched last year, directly connected with about 73% of the total women voters. As per the report, 22% of the funds for welfare schemes are being spent on them.
The elderly – the backbone of LDF’s core vote bank – also occupy a prime spot under the government welfare schemes. The Pinarayi Vijayan government has introduced India’s first dedicated “Elderly Budget” for 2026-27, allocating ₹46,236.52 crore or approximately 19% of the total budget for senior citizens. This allocation focuses on enhanced social security, improved geriatric healthcare, long-term care systems, and support for the elderly living alone.
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Despite the social safety net, the southern state cut its outstanding liabilities by 4.8 per centage points to an estimated 35.5% of its Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP), data in the RBI State of State Finances report reveals.
Assam
Welfare schemes launched by the Himanta Biswa Sarma government in Assam are estimated to have benefited over 1.5 crore people in the state, according to a report in the Economic Times.
A majority of these schemes target women, who account for almost 50% of the state’s 2.5 crore voters.
Just days ahead of the announcement of poll dates, the Himanta Biswa Sarma government disbursed ₹9,000 each to nearly 40 lakh beneficiaries under the Orunodoi scheme, amounting to ₹3,600 crore, the largest direct benefit transfer in the state.
The latest transfer included instalments for the first four months of 2026, along with a special payout for Rongali Bihu, which falls in mid-April. Launched in 2020 during the Covid wave,
The Mahila Udyamita Scheme, which is aimed at empowering women and strengthening their role in family livelihoods and economic development, has also expanded outreach, benefiting over 33.5 lakh women. Under the scheme, an initial ₹10,000 is granted as seed capital, followed by ₹25,000 in the second year (shared with banks) and a ₹50,000 performance-based grant in the third year, taking the total support to ₹72,500 per beneficiary.
Around 25 lakh beneficiaries have benefited from the scheme, Chief Minister Sarma said during a cheque distribution programme under the scheme in January.
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The BJP government has also fulfilled its promise of one lakh government jobs in the 2021 manifesto; official data now claims over 1.58 lakh jobs have been provided.
Assam had a 28% of GSDP in debt in 2025-26, as per the RBI State of State Finances report data.
Puducherry
All welfare schemes in Puducherry have been implemented without delay since the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government assumed office in 2021, Chief Minister N Rangasamy said, according to a PTI report in January. Some of the popular schemes include free rice distribution scheme, which had earlier been discontinued during the previous Congress government. Vacancies in government departments have been filled, leading to further strain on the state exchequer.
“We are implementing schemes on time with the cooperation of the Centre,” the CM said while addressing beneficiaries of an integrated housing scheme operated by the Slum Clearance Board, it reported.
The Rangasamy government recently disbursed ₹3,000 to all ration cardholders as Pongal gift – a decision which increased an additional requirement of around ₹100 crore to the state monthly expenditure. The monthly budget further shot up by around ₹20 crore from February following the decision to disburse the enhanced amount of monthly assistance to women heads of BPL families and pension for old age and destitute persons in Puducherry.
The Pongal assistance comes at a time when the government was in the process of honouring budgetary commitments of increasing old age pension by ₹500 and financial assistance given to women heads of BPL families (up from ₹1, 000 to ₹2,500).
Around 72,000 women are learnt to be beneficiaries of the monthly assistance of ₹1,000 of the scheme, which was announced in 2023. At the time, the government incurred an expenditure of around ₹6.5 crore every month, according to The Hindu. Now, with the hike in assistance to ₹2,500, the expenditure was to increase by ₹9.25 crore every month, it said.
Similarly, the old age pension, which had around 1.91 lakh beneficiaries of old age and destitute pension, will get a hike of ₹500 per month. The addition of around 36,000 new beneficiaries under the old age pension scheme is likely to strain the monthly expenditure for the scheme by ₹10 crore every month – from ₹45 crore to ₹55 crore.
According to data in the RBI State of State Finances report, Puducherry, a Union Territory, has share of debt in GSDP at 26% of GSDP in 2025-26.
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