Mumbai, Aug 12 (IANS): Seeing the huge popularity of MahaYuti government's 'Mukhyamantri Majhi Ladki Bahin Yojana', Shiv Sena-UBT chief Uddhav Thackeray has started fearing defeat in the Assembly elections and that is why he has been criticising and ridiculing the scheme, Maharashtra unit BJP president Chandrashekhar Bawankule said here on Monday.

Bawankule said that 25 lakh women of the state will be sending Rakhis to Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on the day of Raksha Bandhan to express their gratitude for the Ladki Bahin scheme. He added that the first instalment of the 'Mukhyamantri Majhi Ladki Bahin' scheme will be deposited in women's accounts on August 17.

"Uddhav Thackeray has tried to mislead women by spreading misinformation about Ladki Bahin Yojana. Those who are born in a family of millionaires will never know the value of this scheme. Uddhav Thackeray has shown his ideological bankruptcy by making fun of a scheme which is so useful for women," Bawankule said.

The Maharashtra BJP president also thanked Chief Minister Eknath Shinde for announcing a scheme on behalf of the MahaYuti government that re-instills self-respect and self-confidence in women by depositing Rs 1,500 per month (Rs 18,000 rupees per year) in their accounts.

He said that in Karnataka, Himachal Pradesh, where the government led Congress and its allies took votes with the promise of Grilahakshmi Yojana ahead of the elections, stopped the scheme immediately after coming into power.

"Those who lie to the people like this have no right to criticise the Ladki Bahin Yojana. It is no wonder that Uddhav Thackeray, who supports such a party of liars, sees this scheme as a lie," he claimed.

Citing the example of the Madhya Pradesh government, Bawankule also mentioned that in the states where the BJP and its allies are in power, schemes are not announced while keeping a "greedy eye" on the vote bank. Instead, various schemes are being implemented in perpetuity.

The BJP leader also said that the people will vote for the MahaYuti partners in the upcoming Assembly elections, highlighting the difference between the two state governments of Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh.

He on behalf of BJP also congratulated the MahaYuti government for taking a historic decision to provide free electricity to 42 lakh farmers.

Meanwhile, former Satara Zilla Parishad President Manikrao Sonwalkar on Monday joined the Bharatiya Janata Party along with many of his supporters in the presence of state unit chief Chandrashekhar Bawankule.

He said that With Sonwalkar joining BJP, the party organisation will get strengthened in Satara district.