By IPA Webdesk
Congress has unveiled a plan to distribute five lakh sanitary pads under its Priyadarshini Udaan Yojana in Bihar, aimed at improving menstrual hygiene and complementing its wider Mai Behen Maan cash transfer promise. The packets, it emerges, carry the images of Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra鈥攁 design choice that has provoked sharp criticism from rival parties.
The BJP branded the move 鈥渁n insult to the women of Bihar,鈥 with spokesperson Pradeep Bhandari asserting that Congress had turned a welfare measure into a political ruse. Alleging 鈥渋deological bankruptcy,鈥 the party suggested featuring a male leader on menstrual hygiene products was tactless. LJP鈥檚 Chirag Paswan described the imagery as 鈥渁wkward and inappropriate鈥.
JD, under Nitish Kumar, echoed the rebuke. Spokesperson Neeraj Kumar condemned it as a 鈥渟heer arrogance,鈥 asserting that women should not be used as campaign tools. The opposition鈥檚 backlash has taken aim at Congress鈥檚 attempt to merge political branding with a health initiative.
Congress, represented by All India Mahila Congress leader Alka Lamba, pushed back. She emphasised that the real concern was access: too many women still rely on cloth pads and suffer illness. Lamba framed the Gandhi images as symbolic of leadership driving positive change.
The scheme rolls out amid a broader women-focused contest: the opposition alliance INDIA bloc promises 鈧2,500 monthly to women under Mai Behen Maan Yojana if elected, while the Nitish Kumar government is engaged in door-to-door outreach via its Mahila Samvad campaign, reaching 2 crore women. Menstrual health has emerged as a do-or-die issue in rural campaigning ahead of the Bihar Assembly polls due later this year.
Grassroots feedback has been mixed. Pinki Kumari of Muzaffarpur said seeing a male face on sanitary product packaging was 鈥渘othing but an insult鈥, stressing the initiative needed to focus on basic dignity and safety. Sunita Singh in Vaishali echoed the sentiment, calling Gandhi鈥檚 imagery a misfired attempt to play 鈥淧ad Man鈥.
Supporters argue the scheme draws attention to chronic menstrual health gaps. Lamba criticised the BJP for plastering Modi鈥檚 photo on vaccine certificates and sindoor boxes, questioning its own record on women鈥檚 welfare. Congress insiders emphasise the dual aim: distributing hygiene supplies while signalling leadership invested in women鈥檚 issues.
Campaign strategists portray the move as an effort to personalise outreach and break taboos by placing high-profile endorsements on hygiene materials. Critics see misjudgement; supporters see urgency. What is clear is that menstrual health is a central battlefield in the run-up to Bihar鈥檚 2025 elections, with women increasingly seen as pivotal to electoral outcomes.