Dusma Sabar in Odisha’s Nuapada district has been desperately chasing a labour agent to bring back his son from a brick kiln in Telangana so that last rites of his deceased daughter-in-law could be performed.
His daughter-in-law, Tulsa Sabar, who was contesting in the upcoming rural elections for samiti member post in Badi panchayat, died suddenly on January 24. Mr. Sabar’s wife, son and niece are stranded in a brick-kiln in Peddapalli district of Telangana.
If three family members could not come home in such an emergency, where is the guarantee they would be allowed to return home to cast their votes in the Odisha panchayat polls scheduled for February third week?
From the deceased candidate’s village, Chantumal, 22 brick-makers are working in other States. They are supposed to return only in June, after panchayat elections are over.
According to civil society organisations, more than one lakh families from five western districts – Balangir, Bargarh, Nuapada, Kalahandi and Subarnapur – migrated mostly to Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu to work at construction sites and brick kilns. Since their contracts end in June, they are unlikely to come to exercise their franchise now. A conservative estimate5 says around 2 lakh voters may be deprived of this opportunity.
Hollow promises
For Kartik Rana, the brick-maker in Tureikela of Balangir district, the upcoming panchayat polls hold no meaning as it happens every five years without impacting his life and livelihood. He is likely to stay on with his wife and three minor daughters in Tamil Nadu till he earns his full money. He fell into debt after building a kitchen and boundary wall for his home. Now, a month before the elections he took up work outside to be able to dig a borewell. His exit also exposes the government’s hollow promises of making irrigation and drinking water available to villagers.
Surendra Rana, 30, had cast his vote in 2017 panchayat elections. But this year he will give it a miss as he has to work for survival and has taken up a job in the brick kiln where Kartik Rana works.
Dolamani Banchor, who filed nomination for Sarpanch posts in Karuamunda gram panchayat in Balangir district, told The Hindu, there are about 3,400 voters whose names are registered in voters’ list. “But, 1,500 voters will not be able to cast their vote as they are all expected to return in June,” he said.
Missing voters
In Karuamunda gram panchayat, Radha Jani’s husband, who was elected as a ward member in Andalpur village, has also migrated. Jalandhar Mahakud, a retired teacher who is contesting the election as Sarpanch candidate, said, Tureikela gram panchayat with 5,605 voters would be missing 1,200 of them.
Zilla parishad member candidate Sudarshan Kata faces same predicament. Of the 25,000 registered voters in zone number 11 in Tureikela block, 18,000 voters won’t be able to make it.
It is not easy for any migrant worker to take leave and lose three days wages to return home to cast vote. It is not possible for the candidates to fund their travel expenses though there have been instances in the past where candidates made arrangements for the seasonal workers to come and vote in the Assembly and general elections.
“The moment a villager migrates for work, the process of his exclusion begins; they feel disempowered and alienated and also face difficulty in enrolling their names for welfare schemes,” said Umi Daniel, head of the migration unit of Aide et Action, an NGO.
‘Need for model’
Mr. Daniel said the issue of enabling migrant workers to vote has been debated for long. “There is a need for a model that would help them to cast their vote. For example, the district administrations in all migrant-rich zones can target their employment generation programmes in a way that it does not affect election period,” he said.
