Assembly election results of Maharashtra and Jharkhand see the incumbents retaining the power in their respective states. The credit to their victories is being given to the direct cash transfer schemes launched by their governments, just a few months before the elections.
This draws attention to the previous instances of such cash transfers to women by state governments. Our analysis shows that four out of four times in the past, such cash transfers have helped the parties to thwart anti-incumbency in the state Assembly polls.