Married women make up as many as 83 per cent of the beneficiaries of the Maharashtra government's 'Mukhyamantri Majhi Ladki Bahin Yojana', as per official data. The scheme, which is supposed to have played a role in the BJP-led coalition's victory in the November 2024 assembly elections, provides monthly assistance of Rs 1,500 to women aged 21 to 65 who are married, divorced, widowed, deserted, or destitute, and whose family income is below Rs 2,50,000 per year. The benefit is also provided to one unmarried woman per family. The scheme has, as of now, some 2.5 crore beneficiaries, though the government is now carrying out a scrutiny to omit those who are ineligible. Data indicates that married women constitute 83 per cent while unmarried women constitute 11.8 per cent of the beneficiaries, a senior official said on Thursday. Widows account for 4.7 per cent of beneficiaries, while 'divorced, destitute or deserted' women collectively make up less than 1 per cent of the cohort. ...