Maharashtra: 64,000 missing, highlights Congress’ Laapataa Ladies campaign

With the crucial Maharashtra assembly election round the corner, the Congress party has launched a 'Laapataa Ladies' campaign, highlighting the Eknath Shinde-led government's failure on women's safety.

Inspired by Kiran Rao's Oscar-nominated film Laapataa Ladies, the campaign draws attention to the alarming number of women who have gone missing in the state.

Posters with the legend ‘64,000 women missing in a year’ have been placed across Maharashtra, with silhouettes of chief minister Shinde and deputy chief ministers Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar underscoring the Congress‘ message.

The campaign strikes at the Shinde government's track record on women’s safety, with the Congress leveraging the Maharashtra government's own figures to underscore its criticism.

In August last year, Devendra Fadnavis, who also holds the home portfolio for the state, admitted during an assembly session that 64,000 women go missing annually in Maharashtra.

The Congress' pointed reference to this statistic comes amidst heightened concerns about women’s security, particularly following a shocking incident last month in Badlapur, where two schoolgirls were sexually assaulted.

The Opposition has seized this moment to attack the ruling Mahayuti coalition of the BJP, Shiv Sena and Ajit Pawar’s NCP faction, accusing them of failing to safeguard women in the state.

Political observers seem to think the Congress strategy is likely to successfully mobilise women voters.

It is worth mentioning here that the Shinde government has recently introduced the Majhi Ladki Bahin Yojana, promising monthly financial support of Rs 1,500 to women aged 21–65 years from families earning less than Rs 2.5 lakh annually.

Observers note that while the Majhi Ladki Bahin Yojana — inspired by the Ladli Behna Yojana launched by the Shivraj Singh Chauhan government in Madhya Pradesh — aims to win over women voters, the Congress' Laapataa Ladies campaign is keeping the spotlight firmly on the issue of women's safety and security, giving the lie to the Shinde administration.

The Congress seems determined to shift the narrative away from welfare schemes and toward the ruling coalition's handling of concerns around women's safety in the state.

The upcoming Maharashtra election is poised to be a high-stakes battle between the Mahayuti alliance and the opposition's Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) bloc, consisting of the Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT) and Sharad Pawar's NCP faction.

The MVA's strong performance in the Lok Sabha election earlier this year, where they won 30 out of 48 seats, has positioned them as formidable challengers, but the ruling coalition is determined to reclaim political ground.

As both sides prepare for an intense showdown, will the Laapataa Ladies campaign tilt the balance and dethrone the Mahayuti?