Sunita Prabhat, a 55-year-old homemaker from Nanak Mandal in Bhopal, hails chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan for the Rs 1,000 credited to her bank account every month under the Ladli Behana scheme started by the state government recently.

“The amount is a big support for poor people like us when prices of all essential items have skyrocketed,” she said and hopes Shivraj is elected again in the year-end polls.

Seated beside her in the local community centre, Sangita Katre promptly chimes in that the Rs 1,000 dole was too little given the steep rise in prices of food grains and “gas ki tanki” (LPG cylinder). “The government should decrease the prices of gas cylinders. We can’t afford to pay Rs 1,200 for one cylinder,” Sangita says. Other women in the group, including Sunita, nod in agreement.

The Ladli Behana scheme, under which the government transfers Rs 1,000 every month to the bank accounts of 1.25 crore women, has been rolled out to woo women voters and offset anti-incumbency. With less than 100 days to go before the state goes to polls, there is a palpable restlessness among voters over the rise in prices and lack of jobs.

Although the chief minister claimed that Ladli Behana was one of his welfare schemes aimed at educating and empowering women and had nothing to do with the elections, there are clear signs of the cash dole being used to power the poll campaign. Billboards and posters have been put up all across Bhopal hailing Shivraj for his commitment to “naari samman” (women’s dignity).

Shivraj too has been going all out to extract maximum mileage from the scheme by playing on the voters’ need for more. “Sisters, at present you are getting Rs 1,000. Soon it would be Rs 1,250…,” he tweeted recently and went on to list a gradual increase leading to Rs 3,000.

The longest-serving chief minister of the state who is seeking a record fifth term in office, Shivraj is banking heavily on the women voters and hoping that the scheme would sway their votes. There are around 2.5 crore women voters in the state. The Ladli Behana scheme already has a beneficiary strength of 1.25 crore.

“Around half of the total women voters are already getting benefits and the numbers could increase with enrolments in progress. The amount is also set to increase before the elections are announced,” a BJP leader said, confident that the scheme will prove to be a game-changer. Party managers in Bhopal said there was a high possibility of the amount being increased to Rs 1,500 before the votes are cast.

Around 40km off Bhopal in rural Sehore, Jyoti Kushwaha is excited by the prospect of the cash dole being increased to Rs 3,000.

“If the amount is increased to Rs 3,000, nobody can stop Shivraj ji from sweeping the elections,” she said.

Puja, a young graduate working at a local Aganwadi centre, pointed towards the closed sugar mill and hosiery factory to highlight how the lack of jobs was leading to migration to Gujarat and other states. “The government should focus on creating jobs. How long can we survive on these schemes?” she said.

Sensing a decent possibility of gaining power, the Congress too has jumped on the dole bandwagon. The party has promised to increase the monthly payment to Rs 1,500 and provide gas cylinders for Rs 500 besides 100 units of free electricity and 200 units at a 50 per cent rebate if voted to power. Party cadres have launched a parallel drive to register voters for its schemes.

Most of the women voters who thanked Shivraj for the Ladli Behana scheme are also rushing to register for the schemes offered by the Congress, keeping their options open.