Mumbai: In an interview last year, Ajit Pawar was asked whether he had alerted CM Devendra Fadnavis to the tremendous financial burden posed by the Mukhyamantri Majhi Ladki Bahin scheme, when it was being planned. He shot back, “If I had told the truth, we would not have been elected.” He did not restrain bureaucrats in the finance department who criticised the sops in detailed notes to the cabinet in the run-up to the 2024 assembly polls. In March 2025, the first budget after the Ladki Bahin scheme was introduced, and Pawar was criticised for not hiking the stipend from Rs 1,500 to Rs 2,100 per month, as promised in the Mahayuti election manifesto. He admitted that the state could not afford it. “Once our financial condition improves, we will do it,” he said.Although the Mahayuti alliance had promised a loan waiver to farmers in its election manifesto, Pawar’s plain-speaking led to a backlash from the farming community. He admitted the Mahayuti alliance had made the promise with an eye on polls and advised farmers to pay their dues.
