Odisha is witnessing an exodus of Bengal migrant labourers who fear their names would be struck off the electoral rolls if they don’t cast their votes in the two-phase Assembly elections on Thursday and April 29.
Mohammad Imran, 29, is among those who hurried back to Bengal for Thursday’s poll, driven by concern about losing his voting rights. Imran, who works at the Bhubaneswar fish market, has been living here for two years.
Several workers from Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Balasore, Sambalpur and Bhadrak — employed as masons and labourers — are also making a beeline for their home state.
“Earlier, I worked in Mumbai. I moved here two years ago and started working at the fish market. There is a growing sense of mistrust in the country. There is a perception that if you don’t cast your
vote, your name might be deleted from the voters’ list next time. I don’t want to take that risk. Fortunately, my name is still on the list, but several others have reportedly been deleted during the SIR,” Imran said.
Imran hails from the Chakulia Assembly constituency in North Dinajpur
district.
Labourer Mohammad Tasir, 32, shared a similar concern. “I don’t care about who I vote for. I just want to exercise my right to vote. There is a fear that if you don’t vote, your name could be deleted from the list in future, and we might even be told to leave for Bangladesh,” Tasir said.
Making hay while the sun shines, several bus operators have doubled fares from ₹600 to ₹1,200. More than 100 special buses are operating from Bhubaneswar and Cuttack to Calcutta to tackle the rush.
Labourer Babu Ranjan Das, 35, was spotted waiting at the Baramunda bus stand. “I am waiting to catch a bus home. But tickets are being sold for ₹1,200 each. How can we afford tickets for five people, which almost comes to around ₹6,000? Trains are also running full. We are planning to travel in the general compartment despite the risks,” Das said.
CPM state secretary Suresh Chandra Panigrahi said: “The SIR has created a sense of fear among people. People suspect the integrity of the entire process.”
In Bengal, 90.82 lakh names have been removed from the voter list after the SIR drive. Over 57 per cent of the deleted voters are from 10 districts bordering Bangladesh, and more than 70 per cent of them are Muslims.
