COIMBATORE: Though the Election Commission of India (ECI) has been actively involved in awareness campaigns to boost poll percentages in the upcoming Lok Sabha election, many north Indian migrant workers in Coimbatore and Tiruppur districts are not keen on going to their native places to cast their votes.
The migrants are mostly employed in industries or work as street vendors. Travel expenses and loss of salary or daily wages discourage them from going to home states ahead of the voting day. Shockingly, some workers are not even aware of the forthcoming election dates in their respective states. The seven-phase Lok Sabha election starts on April 19 and ends on June 1.
TNIE spoke to a few north Indian labourers to know if they would be going to their native places to vote in the election. Several labourers replied that they are not interested to go home and cited various reasons, though a few expressed intent to be there for voting.
A labour, A Ashokumar (22), hailing from Patna in Bihar, who has been working at a hotel in Gandhipuram bus stand told TNIE, “If I go to my hometown to cast a vote, I should spend around Rs 5,000 for travel, food, etc. I have to stay at least 15 days there. Thus I will lose about Rs 8,000 from my salary. This poses a financial burden on my family,” he said, adding, he is not even aware of the polling date in his state.
A Swaraj (28), who is from Uttar Pradesh, runs a small ‘beeda’ shop at Saradha Mill road in the city for the last eight years. He said, “I go to my native place once a year. I returned from there only five months ago.” When asked about casting his vote, he admitted he may incur about Rs 7,000 for travelling to home state and can’t spend that much.
C Ajith Kumar, who is working in a garment unit on Mangalam road in Tiruppur, told TNIE, “My friends will travel to Jharkhand and Bihar to vote, but some of them have decided to stay back. The cost of travelling and other expenses would come to Rs 2,000. So myself and many of them have decided to stay put in Tiruppur this time.”
However, another migrant worker, Kulkanta Malik, based at a private coconut farm in Sethumadai in Pollachi said, “Seven families from Odisha are working here. As the election is scheduled for May in our state, we would go to our native place in Kandhamal next month to cast votes.” Recently many workers from other states had gone to their native places for Ramadan and Holi. Another trip for casting votes is so ruled out.
Migrant Workers Union, Coimbatore (CITU) general secretary, S Krishnamoorthy, told TNIE that around 1.5 lakh migrant workers are working in Coimbatore. “Migrant workers give importance only to local body elections and assembly elections. When their relatives contest in a local body election, their presence will be needed there,” he said. “Around 4,000 West Bengal natives obtained voter ID in the Coimbatore south assembly constituency. The ECI should consider some reforms so that migrant workers can cast their vote here at least next time,” he noted.
Coimbatore collector and District Election Officer Kranthi Kumar Pati told TNIE, “To improve voting by workers we have already conducted awareness drives under the Systematic Voters’ Education and Electoral Participation programme. Also a holiday has been declared on the voting day.”