M I Khan, TwoCircles.net
Patna: Rajesh Kumar was keen to cast his vote in ongoing Lok Sabha elections but had to leave his native village in Bihar’s Saran district to go back to work in faraway Maharashtra. The young migrant worker won’t be able to exercise his right to franchise on May 20 unlike last Lok Sabha elections.
“Yahan koi kaam-dhandha nahi hai, majboori hai kamane ke liye jaa rahe hain. Hamare liye chunav se adhik jaroori jeevika hai. Hum jaise gharib aadmi ke liye koi kutch nahi karta hai chunav ke baad (There is no work here; it is a compulsion to go outside to earn a living. Livelihood is more important for us than elections. No one does anything for the poor like us after polls),” the man in his late 20s told TwoCircles.net, while waiting at Danapur railway station in Patna to board an express train to Pune.
The native of Satjora village under Panapur block in Saran parliamentary constituency is only breadwinner for his family of five.
He said he had planned to leave after voting; but two days ago, he received a call from a contractor to come and resume work. He was unable to take a risk to leave the job opportunity and stay back home just to vote.
“I was at home for over two-and-and-a-half months without any job. As I got the call, without even giving a second thought, I decided to go back. If I delay joining the work, there is a possibility that I will lose the opportunity,” said Rajesh, who has been working as a Poclain operator in Pune for the last four years.
He said his father is a small farmer, who hardly earns anything from his kharif and rabi harvests after months of hard labour in the village.
“It is my responsibility to manage the family and construct a pucca house. I have to earn more to educate my brother and sister,” he said, narrating his part of the struggle for achche din (good days) ahead, which he said won’t turn out to be jumla of the past.
He said he earns Rs 25,000 every month in Pune.
According to the Bihar Caste Survey report released in 2023, the state has high out migration for low paid jobs. The report highlighted about 46 lakh people of the state are living and working outside to earn their livelihood. It further revealed the majority of migrant workers belong to other backwards castes (OBCs), extremely backward castes (EBCs), Muslims and scheduled castes (SCs).
Rajesh was not alone at the station, waiting for a train to go to big cities to work as labourers. There are several others who were waiting at different railway stations in Patna, including Patna Junction, Rajendra Nagar Terminal, Patliputra and Danapur, to embark on their journeys. It is a usual crowd, which can be spotted round the year.
“We are poor and landless, there is no option except to migrate to earn livelihood — leaving family behind in the village. As far as elections are concerned, we have to make a choice to earn or stay back to vote. I came to the village in early April to attend a marriage in the extended family. I am now returning to work,” said Raman Ram, a young migrant worker, waiting along with three more from his native village Dagraha under Mehsi block in East Champaran to board Sanghmitra express for Bengaluru at Danapur Railway Junction.
“I am working as a mason with a contractor in Bengaluru and earn nearly double of what I can earn at my native place. It is always difficult to go to far away places to earn a living, but we have to accept this challenge. We are forced to migrate as there is no job opportunity back home. Even if we get work, neither it is regular nor well paid. No employer will give us Rs 800-1,000 as daily wage,” he said.
Ram was echoed by his fellow villager Brijesh Kumar. He too said the same that he had planned to leave after elections but got a call from a contractor, who requested him to reach as soon as possible.
Roshan Kumar, who was waiting to board a train to Mumbai, said, “Majboori ke karan bahar ja rahe hain, Bihar mein rojgar ka suvidha rahta to kyon jaate. Na yahan factory hai, na koi aur kaam dhandha. Berojgar baithne se pet nahi bharega. Chunav to hote rahta hai (We are going out of compulsion. There is employment opportunity in Bihar. Neither there is any factory here, nor any other job opportunity. Sitting idle won’t make ends meet. Elections keep happening).”
The resident Roh block in Nawada district had arrived home after election was over in his parliamentary constituency on April 19 in the first of seven phase ongoing Lok Sabha elections 2024. He was upset that he missed a chance to exercise his fundamental right.
“What more can I say? There is no use of my education because unemployment is rampant. Despite being a graduate, I work as a cab driver to earn a living. During election campaigns, political leaders promise jobs to educated youth and later forget. The next government should focus on ensuring jobs in Bihar,” he said.
Similarly, Rakesh Sahni, another migrant worker, a native of Shahpur Patori in Samastipur parliamentary constituency, shared his part of the story.
“If there is an employment opportunity back home, why would we go to other states — leaving the family behind. Our life is full of struggle. I came to attend a family function last month and am now going back,” he said. He works as a marble-tiles mason in Hyderabad.
Not far from Sahni, a group of seven or eight young migrant workers, sitting on a platform, waiting to board a train to Erode in Tamil Nadu, were worried as they had no confirmed seat reservation.
“We wanted to cast our votes, but our financial situation compelled us to go back. We had no jobs for over three months,” said Shiv Balak Rai and his friend Sukesh.
“Rojgar nahi hai to kya krein? Tamil Nadu jaa rahe hain, kuch paisa kamane. Paisa ke abhav mein kutch kaam nahi hota hai, pet chalna bhi mushkil hai, humlog garib hai. Vote dene ka mann to tha par kya karen (What to do if there is no employment? We are going to Tamil Nadu to earn some money. Nothing is possible without money, even having meals becomes difficult. We are poor. We were keen to vote, but there was no choice),” Rai said.
Ironically, only a small portion of migrant workers return to their villages and towns with the sole purpose of taking part in the electoral process. Several studies in recent years revealed that most migrant workers are eager to participate in voting but they are facing several issues, including fear of loss of job, earnings and other financial constraints.
“With low paid jobs and costly journeys back home to cast vote is a big challenge for them. This discourages them as the issue of livelihood comes first,” said Mahendar Yadav, founder convenor of the Koshi Nav Nirman Manch, a people’s organisation working in the backward and flood-prone Kosi region.
The Kosi belt along with the Seemanchal region, comprising nearly a dozen districts, more or less facing the same challenge, is known for high rate of migration due to rampant poverty, underdevelopment and lack of availability of work locally.
Yadav said poor migrant workers from underdeveloped areas are forced to go outside in search of jobs, and successive governments did nothing to enable them to take part in voting. They are being deprived of their fundamental right.
He demanded that the government should make special arrangements for migrant workers so that theory can exercise their right.
An official of the Bihar State Election Commission said the return of thousands of migrant workers to the state due to COVID 19 had resulted in an increase in the voting percentage in the Bihar Assembly election, which was held in October-November 2020, particularly in districts with a higher percentage of migrant workers.
None other than the Election Commission of India admitted that one of the prominent reasons contributing to low voter turnout is the inability to vote due to internal migration.
At the national level, migrant workers are playing an important role as they contribute nearly 10 percent of India’s GDP, and they are part of ongoing almost all big infrastructure projects — national highway, bridges, metro in different cities to agriculture and industries.