Migrant labourers in Kerala who failed to get train tickets to return to Bengal to cast their votes are counting on private tourist bus operators to bring them home.

All Bengal-bound trains from Thiruvananthapuram are currently packed with migrants who had bought reserved tickets to be able to return to their home state in time for the two-phase Assembly polls on April 23 and 29.

Six trains connect Thiruvananthapuram to Bengal. They are the Shalimar Super Fast Express (Thursday and Saturday), Dibrugarh Vivek Express (daily), TVC SCL Express (Tuesday), Gurudev Superfast Express (Sunday), CBE SCL Superfast Express (Sunday) and the Aranoi Express (Tuesday).

In the absence of train tickets, several labourers decided to stay back in Kerala and skip the polls. That’s when a few tourist bus operators based in Perumbavoor, Kothamangalam and Moovattupuzha in Ernakulam district stepped in and decided to undertake round trips to Bengal.

The round trips are costing anything between ₹4,000 and ₹6,000 per passenger.

"I have been operating tourist buses to Cooch Behar, Murshidabad, Malda and Siliguri for the past several years during Eid holidays and Durga Puja in Bengal. When some guest labourers approached us for a round trip to Bengal for the SIR and the Assembly polls, we agreed. So far, more than 100 tourist buses have been deployed," Shihab Parely, a bus operator, told The Telegraph.

He said the non-AC buses are charging ₹4,000 per person, AC buses ₹5,000 and sleeper buses ₹6,000. Two drivers take turns to operate a bus.

Shihab said they had to pay a bribe of ₹5,000 at the Bengal-Odisha border for each trip, which ate into the profit.

"The authorities have realised that they can make easy money by fleecing private bus owners. We have to wait in Bengal for at least 10 days before returning with the labourers," Shihab added.

The mass exodus of migrants from Assam and Bengal has triggered a crisis in Kerala's hotel, construction and agriculture sectors.