India, Jan. 12 -- Even in their campaign for the civic polls, the ruling allies BJP and Shiv Sena are appealing to women voters by sounding the 'Ladki Bahin' (dear sister) tune, reminding them about the popular scheme, which turned out to be a key reason behind their return to power in 2024. The stress on Ladki Bahin scheme, in which Rs.1,500 is given to poor women each month, is pretty much visible in the advertisements of the two parties-whether on television or on banners. A BJP ad has a woman talking about Devabhau (CM Devendra Fadnavis) sending her money every month and therefore, how could she not vote for him. Shinde's billboard and TV ads are mentioning him as 'Ladka Bhau' (dear brother). In his campaign rallies, Shinde makes it a point to appeal to all the 'Ladki Bahins' to vote for his party and assures them that they need not worry about the handouts as long as their brother is there (in the government). "This will also help us make a dent in the Marathi Manoos vote bank of the Thackeray brothers as a major chunk of women beneficiaries in Mumbai and MMR are Marathi-speaking women," explained a senior BJP leader. The ruling parties seem to be pretty confident about the dividends they have been reaping on their "investment". Taking a leaf out of their book, even the Thackeray brothers have announced "Sanman Nidhi" a handout of Rs.1,500 to house maids and fisherwomen in their poll manifesto. It remains to be seen whom the Bahins support. While the slanging match between Ajit Pawar and BJP leaders continues in Pune, a war of words has broken out in Navi Mumbai too. Here BJP minister and Navi Mumbai strongman Ganesh Naik has been training his guns on Eknath Shinde. On the face of it, the two allies are contesting against each other in Navi Mumbai. However, it has become a battle between the two leaders with Shinde trying to end Naik's reign in the satellite city while the latter is fighting back to retain his control. Naik is upset that Shinde, as urban development minister, took several decisions without taking him into confidence. Then, in an interview last week, an irked Naik even predicted Shinde's downfall in the coming days. "I am warning him not to trouble me. I have nothing to lose. I sleep peacefully. I am not worried about the raids of the CBI or the ED. What he has done so far will come back to haunt him soon," he said. Shinde chose not to react while his son Shrikant said his party leaders are exercising restraint as they follow a certain decorum but not for long. As D-Day comes closer, the war is likely to get more intense. In a rally in Sindhudurg on January 3, former chief minister and BJP MP Narayan Rane indicated that he was toying with the idea of hanging up his boots. "One has to stop at some point," he said as he acknowledged the support the people in coastal Maharashtra have extended to him. The aging leader also spoke about physical limitations and also pointed out that both his sons were doing well in politics. His elder son Nilesh is Shiv Sena MLA while younger son Nitesh is a BJP legislator and also ports and fisheries minister. However, two days later, on June 6, he insisted he did not mean he was retiring from active politics and that his remarks were misinterpreted. He also said he meant he would reflect on his future if he was unable to deliver the results. His party colleagues say Rane, a former union minister, is unhappy because he was not re-inducted in the union cabinet after he won in Lok Sabha polls, wresting the Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg seat from Shiv Sena (UBT). He is also not happy with state BJP chief Ravindra Chavan who has been quite active in his Sindhudurg district. While the two factions of the NCP have been inching together in Pune, a senior NCP (SP) leader, who does not get along well with Ajit Pawar, has started exploring his options, in case the uncle and nephew bury the hatchet and merge the two parties. Recently, he had a meeting with a couple of senior Congress leaders, tapping the possibility of what would be his position if he decides to join the party. An aide of the leader said he even has an option of joining the BJP, but given the nature of the area from where he gets elected and his past in the Congress, it would make more sense for him to return to that party if the two Pawar indeed come together....