Wo-manifestos: Who parties are trying to woo in Tamil Nadu, Bengal
In three of four party manifestos for the Assembly elections in West Bengal and Tamil Nadu, the most used word was "women".
Women outvoted men in nearly half of West Bengal's seats in 2021 and in a third of Tamil Nadu's. And parties in these states recognise this bloc’s importance. In three of four party manifestos for the Assembly elections in West Bengal and Tamil Nadu, the most used word was “women”.
The Trinamool Congress used it 42 times in its 6,639-word, 88-page booklet. The Bharatiya Janata Party in West Bengal used it 24 times on a single dedicated page in its 13-page document.
The AIADMK in Tamil Nadu used it 35 times in a 45-page manifesto. Only the ruling DMK put another word ahead. Students had 81 mentions, putting women in fourth place with 63 in its 99-page publication.
In both states, cash transfers, bus passes, and welfare schemes aimed at women dominated the campaign. And in both, the political math behind that strategy is anchored in what happened at the polling booth in 2021.
In 144 of West Bengal's 294 Assembly constituencies (49 per cent of all seats), women voters turned out at higher rates than men in the 2021 election. The pattern stretches from North Bengal to the Gangetic Delta and is not confined to any single district.
In Tamil Nadu, women outpaced men in 83 of the 234 seats, 35 per cent of the total, according to data from the Election Commission of India. The contrast is 14 percentage points, roughly a third of Tamil Nadu's map against half of Bengal's.
The margin math
Tamil Nadu's politics sit on thinner margins than West Bengal's. The CSDS-Lokniti 2021 post-poll survey found a 1.1-percentage-point gender lead for the DMK-led alliance, the narrowest in the five-state set that also includes Kerala, Assam, Puducherry, and West Bengal.
A small gender advantage travels further in a tight state. The Tiruchengode Assembly seat in Namakkal district was tied in 2021; men and women turned out at 78.7 per cent each. The Krishnagiri seat in northern Tamil Nadu finished within 0.03 percentage points. In seats this close, every appeal counts.
The promises
In Tamil Nadu, both parties have wrapped their pitch in cash. The AIADMK, in opposition, leads its 2026 manifesto with the centrepiece of its campaign:
"To create economic equality in society, monthly assistance of Rs. 2,000 will be provided to all family cardholders through the Kula Vilakku Scheme. This amount will be deposited directly into the bank account of the female head of the family." — AIADMK manifesto, 2026
The DMK government had already deposited Rs 5,000 into the accounts of about 1.3 crore women under its Kalaignar Magalir Urimai Thogai scheme earlier this year, according to state government announcements. The DMK's 2026 manifesto reframes women as workers as well as beneficiaries:
"Drone pilot training will create employment opportunities for the youth, with a particular focus on women." — DMK manifesto, 2026
In West Bengal, Finance Minister Chandrima Bhattacharya presented a Rs 4.06 lakh crore vote-on-account last month, extending the Lakshmir Bhandar transfers, which the TMC credits for its 2021 and 2024 victories. The party's 2026 manifesto promises to raise the amounts:
"Enhance household incomes by increasing financial assistance under Lakshmir Bhandar to Rs 1,700 per month for SC/ST women and Rs 1,500 per month for General category women." — Trinamool Congress manifesto, 2026
The BJP matched the cash pitch and went one step further, offering a structural commitment that neither the TMC nor the Tamil Nadu parties have made:
"We will provide 33 per cent reservation for women in all state government jobs, including the police forces." — Bharatiya Janata Party manifesto, 2026
None of the promises is cheap. None of the parties is framing them as charity. All four documents place women at the centre of the social-welfare pitch, and three of them place women at the top of the word count.
The stakes
The strategy has a ceiling. In West Bengal, where women outvoted men in nearly half the state's seats in 2021, the parties field them only grudgingly. In Tamil Nadu, where the gender gap at the polling booth is smaller, the cost of losing even a 1.1-percentage-point swing is higher because narrower margins decide seats.
If the 2021 pattern holds, the DMK alliance is safe in most of Tamil Nadu and the TMC in most of West Bengal. If it weakens even a little, if the women who outvoted men in Salem or North 24 Parganas sit this one out, or change their minds, the seats decided by a few hundred votes last time come back into play.
Women outvoted men in nearly half of West Bengal's seats in 2021 and in a third of Tamil Nadu's. And parties in these states recognise this bloc’s importance. In three of four party manifestos for the Assembly elections in West Bengal and Tamil Nadu, the most used word was “women”.
The Trinamool Congress used it 42 times in its 6,639-word, 88-page booklet. The Bharatiya Janata Party in West Bengal used it 24 times on a single dedicated page in its 13-page document.
The AIADMK in Tamil Nadu used it 35 times in a 45-page manifesto. Only the ruling DMK put another word ahead. Students had 81 mentions, putting women in fourth place with 63 in its 99-page publication.
In both states, cash transfers, bus passes, and welfare schemes aimed at women dominated the campaign. And in both, the political math behind that strategy is anchored in what happened at the polling booth in 2021.
In 144 of West Bengal's 294 Assembly constituencies (49 per cent of all seats), women voters turned out at higher rates than men in the 2021 election. The pattern stretches from North Bengal to the Gangetic Delta and is not confined to any single district.
In Tamil Nadu, women outpaced men in 83 of the 234 seats, 35 per cent of the total, according to data from the Election Commission of India. The contrast is 14 percentage points, roughly a third of Tamil Nadu's map against half of Bengal's.
The margin math
Tamil Nadu's politics sit on thinner margins than West Bengal's. The CSDS-Lokniti 2021 post-poll survey found a 1.1-percentage-point gender lead for the DMK-led alliance, the narrowest in the five-state set that also includes Kerala, Assam, Puducherry, and West Bengal.
A small gender advantage travels further in a tight state. The Tiruchengode Assembly seat in Namakkal district was tied in 2021; men and women turned out at 78.7 per cent each. The Krishnagiri seat in northern Tamil Nadu finished within 0.03 percentage points. In seats this close, every appeal counts.
The promises
In Tamil Nadu, both parties have wrapped their pitch in cash. The AIADMK, in opposition, leads its 2026 manifesto with the centrepiece of its campaign:
"To create economic equality in society, monthly assistance of Rs. 2,000 will be provided to all family cardholders through the Kula Vilakku Scheme. This amount will be deposited directly into the bank account of the female head of the family." — AIADMK manifesto, 2026
The DMK government had already deposited Rs 5,000 into the accounts of about 1.3 crore women under its Kalaignar Magalir Urimai Thogai scheme earlier this year, according to state government announcements. The DMK's 2026 manifesto reframes women as workers as well as beneficiaries:
"Drone pilot training will create employment opportunities for the youth, with a particular focus on women." — DMK manifesto, 2026
In West Bengal, Finance Minister Chandrima Bhattacharya presented a Rs 4.06 lakh crore vote-on-account last month, extending the Lakshmir Bhandar transfers, which the TMC credits for its 2021 and 2024 victories. The party's 2026 manifesto promises to raise the amounts:
"Enhance household incomes by increasing financial assistance under Lakshmir Bhandar to Rs 1,700 per month for SC/ST women and Rs 1,500 per month for General category women." — Trinamool Congress manifesto, 2026
The BJP matched the cash pitch and went one step further, offering a structural commitment that neither the TMC nor the Tamil Nadu parties have made:
"We will provide 33 per cent reservation for women in all state government jobs, including the police forces." — Bharatiya Janata Party manifesto, 2026
None of the promises is cheap. None of the parties is framing them as charity. All four documents place women at the centre of the social-welfare pitch, and three of them place women at the top of the word count.
The stakes
The strategy has a ceiling. In West Bengal, where women outvoted men in nearly half the state's seats in 2021, the parties field them only grudgingly. In Tamil Nadu, where the gender gap at the polling booth is smaller, the cost of losing even a 1.1-percentage-point swing is higher because narrower margins decide seats.
If the 2021 pattern holds, the DMK alliance is safe in most of Tamil Nadu and the TMC in most of West Bengal. If it weakens even a little, if the women who outvoted men in Salem or North 24 Parganas sit this one out, or change their minds, the seats decided by a few hundred votes last time come back into play.
