Bhopal, Mar 5 (IANS): As the Madhya Pradesh Legislative Assembly elections get near, the list of poll promises from both -- ruling BJP and the opposition Congress -- are getting longer day by day.

Madhya Pradesh Congress president Kamal Nath on Sunday promised to bring the world's largest financial scheme for the women of Madhya Pradesh. He said the Congress will provide financial assistance of Rs 18,000 per year to the women, once it forms the government.

He said it was not just an announcement like those being made by Shivraj Singh Chouhan-led BJP government. "The Congress party has taken a pledge to make the women of Madhya Pradesh the most self-reliant in the country and the Congress will fulfill that pledge," said the former chief minister.

"I want to give good news to the mothers, sisters and daughters of Madhya Pradesh. After a few months, all of you are going to form the Congress government in Madhya Pradesh. The Congress government will give financial assistance of Rs 18,000 per year to women. This will become the world's biggest women empowerment scheme," Nath said in an official communication on Sunday.

Interestingly, Kamal Nath made this announcement even as Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan was set to launch his much talked flagship - 'Ladli Behna Yojna' on his birthday Sunday.

Shivraj's 'Ladli Behna Yojna' will be on the line of his previous scheme - 'Ladli Yojna' for women, and will provide a financial assistance of Rs 1,000 per month for the women of age group 20 to 60 years.

To counter Shivraj's scheme, Kamal Nath promised to bring the "biggest financial scheme for women" in Madhya Pradesh, once it forms the government in the state.