A Bharatiya Janata Party leader in West Bengal, Kalipada Sengupta, has sparked a political controversy by suggesting that husbands should prevent women who receive the state's Lakshmir Bhandar cash incentive scheme from voting, urging them to be 'locked up' to ensure votes for the BJP. The Trinamool Congress has strongly condemned the remark as 'anti-women' and 'patriarchal.' While some BJP leaders declined to comment, Union Minister Sukanta Majumdar stated the scheme would continue under a BJP government, potentially with a new name and increased benefits. Sengupta defended his statement by citing unemployment among men.