Telangana Civic Polls: Candidates Wooing Migrant Voters

Karimnagar:Candidates for Sarpanch posts in the three-phase elections on December 11, 14 and 17 are desperately seeking out the large army of migrant voters in erstwhile Karimnagar district.

Since many locals from the united district moved to cities like Hyderabad, Mumbai, Pune and Bengaluru for work, education and livelihood, candidates are now doing meticulous planning to bring these distant voters back to the villages, to enable them participate in the polls.

The four districts of the united Karimnagar region have as many as 1,126 sarpanch and 4,978 ward member posts.

Karimnagar district has 5,07,531 voters, of whom migrant voters number around 1.2 lakh. Peddapalli has 4,04,181 voters, including around 60,000 migrant labour. Jagtial has 2,97,763 voters of whom migrant voters number around 90,00. In Sircilla, out of the 3,53,3521 voters, migrant voters number 80,000.

The high-stakes nature of the panchayat polls meant even a single-vote difference could lead to a loss. Mindful of this, while one team focuses on door-to-door campaigns to attract resident voters, the primary focus of all candidates is the migrant population.

Local leaders and elders are making continuous phone calls to these distant voters, urging them to return for the voting. In fact, candidates are specifically hiring people and arranging logistics to facilitate their return. This includes pre-booking special buses and cars to transport voters from major cities and even setting up detailed ‘Route Maps’ to ensure vehicles arrive on time on polling day.

There are also instances of candidates attempting to attract voters by offering them cash payments to cover the cost of their travel and vote.

The election buzz has migrated to social media as well. Candidates are sending messages on WhatsApp groups, similar to wedding invitations, pleading with voters, “Please come to the village on polling day and cast your valuable vote.”

Some aspirants are taking the campaign directly to the cities, travelling to colonies where their village voters reside, to hold meetings and win them over. Support teams are busy tracking down every voter, finding out where they work, live and when they can return, so as to manage the transport arrangements free of cost.

The steady growth in the number of migrants means city-based voters are now significantly influencing the political dynamics of these villages.

The campaigning also involves throwing elaborate feasts. To attract local voters, a feast politics is evident in the villages.

Similarly, every candidate has planned daily meals and feasts for the migrant voters in the cities where they are currently staying and working. Supervisors are being appointed for different city areas to meet voters daily. End of the day, when they return from work, the labourers are greeted with a celebratory meal to keep them happy and engaged until the polling day.