In recent years, welfare delivery has become an important feature of electoral politics in India. Across States, governments have expanded direct cash transfers, subsidies, scholarships, free electricity, education-linked incentives, and broader social assistance programmes as part of their governance strategies. Within this policy landscape, women-centric welfare schemes have gained particular prominence, serving as a means of mobilising women as a distinct electoral constituency.
In the Assembly elections in April-May in West Bengal, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu, incumbent governments led, respectively, by the All India Trinamool Congress, the Left Democratic Front (LDF), and the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) were voted out of power. These parties have been known for their welfare-oriented governance and the expansion of women-focussed welfare schemes during their tenures. However, the electoral outcomes suggest that welfare delivery alone was not sufficient to secure electoral support.
Post-poll data from PollsMap reveal how women voted in response to women-centric welfare policies implemented by incumbent governments across Kerala, West Bengal, and Tamil Nadu.
West Bengal
In West Bengal, a large proportion of women, about seven in ten, reported that either they or someone in their household had benefited from the flagship scheme Lakshmir Bhandar, which provides direct cash transfers to women. Another major programme, Kanyashree Prakalpa, aimed at preventing child marriage and encouraging girls’ education, also recorded lesser but substantial reach, with close to half of women reporting household-level benefits.
Among beneficiaries of Lakshmir Bhandar, around 60 per cent women reported voting for the Trinamool-led alliance while approximately 32 per cent supported the BJP. Among non-beneficiaries, support for the BJP was substantially higher (75 per cent), while only 11 per cent supported the Trinamool-led alliance.
A similar pattern is observed in relation to Kanyashree Prakalpa, where around 70 per cent of the women beneficiaries reported voting for the Trinamool, compared to about 23 per cent for the BJP. Among non-beneficiaries, 62 per cent supported the BJP, while 25 per cent supported the Trinamool (Table 1). Overall, the data suggest that welfare was associated with higher support for the incumbent among women beneficiaries compared to non-beneficiaries. However, a substantial share of beneficiaries still supported opposition parties, indicating that welfare access did not translate into exclusive political alignment.
This pattern is also reflected in broader voting differences. Women voters were relatively closely divided between the Trinamool-led alliance (47 per cent) and the BJP (42 per cent).
Women’s safety also emerged as a prominent issue during the election campaign in West Bengal. The opposition placed strong emphasis on concerns related to law and order and crimes against women as part of its campaign messaging, which gained further salience in the context of the 2024 rape and murder at R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital.
Women’s perceptions of safety further show variations in voting patterns. Around 36 per cent of respondents reported that safety had deteriorated under the Trinamool government. Among those who reported deterioration, a majority voted for the BJP (63 per cent). However, even among those who felt there was hardly any change with regard to the law-and-order situation, 59 per cent supported the BJP. The data suggest that women’s assessments of safety coexisted with other considerations in shaping electoral preferences during the election.
Kerala
In Kerala, women leaned more strongly towards the UDF, with around 48 per cent voting for it, compared to 36 per cent for the LDF and 14 per cent for the National Democratic Alliance.
Schemes by the Women and Child Development (WCD) Department and the Kerala Labour Welfare Fund Board formed part of Kerala’s broader welfare architecture under the Left government, aimed at supporting maternal health, nutrition, child welfare, and worker welfare.
Women outside a voting booth in Idukki, Kerala, on April 9, 2026.
| Photo Credit:
@Ceokerala on X/ANI
However, the reach of these schemes remained limited, with only about 18 per cent of women reporting household-level benefits from WCD schemes, and 11 per cent reporting benefits from labour welfare schemes which offered maternity benefits of Rs.15,000, educational support, and disability assistance.
Among women beneficiaries of WCD schemes, around 68 per cent reported voting for the LDF, compared to 24 per cent for the UDF. Among women who stated that they or someone in their family benefited from labour welfare schemes, around 77 per cent reported voting for the LDF, compared to 18 per cent for the UDF. However, given the small size of the beneficiary group, these patterns applied to only a limited segment of voters (Table 2).
At the same time, access to welfare did not translate into exclusive political alignment. Around one-quarter of women beneficiaries of WCD schemes and nearly two in ten women beneficiaries of the labour welfare scheme voted for the UDF.
Among non-beneficiaries, a majority supported the UDF, indicating that its overall advantage among women was largely driven by voters outside the welfare coverage net.
Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu, where the DMK faced an electoral defeat and the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) emerged as a surprise political force, also shows a distinctive pattern in women’s voting behaviour. Overall, women were most inclined towards the TVK (38 per cent), followed by the DMK alliance (31 per cent), and the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) alliance (25 per cent), indicating that the TVK was the single largest preference among women.
Tamil Nadu exhibits a broadly similar yet distinct pattern in women’s exposure to welfare schemes. The Kalaignar Magalir Urimai Thiattam, which provides Rs.1,000 a month to eligible homemakers; the Pudhumai Penn Scheme, which offers monthly support to girl students from government schools (classes 6–12) to encourage higher education; and the Dr. Dharmambal Ammaiyar Ninaivu Widow Remarriage Assistance Scheme, which provides financial assistance of Rs.25,000–Rs.50,000 to support widow remarriage and rehabilitation, were among the key schemes directly targeted at women.
A recipient of the Kalaignar Magalir Urimai Thittam in Vellore, Tamil Nadu, on February 2, 2026. Among beneficiaries of the scheme in Tamil Nadu, 36 per cent voted for the TVK, 33 per cent for the DMK alliance, and 26 per cent for the AIADMK alliance.
| Photo Credit:
C. Venkatachalapathy
A substantial share of women reported receiving benefits from the Kalaignar Magalir Urimai Thittam (71 per cent). In contrast, a much smaller proportion of women reported that they or someone in their family had benefited from the Pudhumai Penn Scheme (26 per cent) and the Widow Remarriage Assistance Scheme (17 per cent), indicating uneven reach across schemes.
Among beneficiaries of the Kalaignar Magalir Urimai Thittam, 36 per cent voted for the TVK, 33 per cent for the DMK alliance, and 26 per cent for the AIADMK alliance. Despite the scheme having the largest number of women household beneficiaries, the DMK was unable to translate this extensive welfare reach into a clear electoral advantage. Among non-beneficiaries, support for the TVK increased to 44 per cent, while 28 per cent supported the DMK alliance and 22 per cent the AIADMK alliance (Table 3).
In contrast, the Pudhumai Penn Scheme showed stronger alignment with the incumbent DMK alliance, with 45 per cent of its women beneficiaries supporting the DMK alliance, compared to 28 per cent for the TVK, and 22 per cent for the AIADMK alliance. However, the share of beneficiaries in this scheme was relatively smaller compared to the Kalaignar Magalir Urimai Thittam. A similar pattern was observed in the Widow Remarriage Assistance Scheme, where a majority of beneficiaries (52 per cent) supported the DMK alliance, compared to 24 per cent for the TVK, and 19 per cent for the AIADMK alliance, although the beneficiary base was again limited here.
Among women who were non-beneficiaries of the Pudhumai Penn Scheme, the TVK emerged as the leading recipient of votes, with approximately 45 per cent of women voters supporting the party.
Among women non-beneficiaries of the Widow Remarriage Scheme, the TVK support rose to 43 per cent, while the DMK alliance and the AIADMK alliance received broadly similar shares, indicating a more competitive electoral split in the absence of welfare exposure.
Overall, the trends across the three States suggest that women-centric welfare schemes are mediated by broader electoral competition and political context, and do not translate into exclusive political loyalty on their own.
Sanjay Kumar is an election analyst and a psephologist. Vibha Attri and Arindam Kabir are researchers with Lokniti-CSDS.
Views expressed by the authors are their own. They do not reflect the views of any institution.
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