VOTER PULSE, ONE STATION AT A TIME

On the tracks of political schism: Southern comfort for Opposition

NITIN KUMAR rides the rails of political discord from North to South aboard the Dibrugarh–Kanniyakumari Express

“Is desh ki halat iss train ke jaisi hi hai — lachar (The state of this country is akin to this train — helpless),” says Karthik Selvam during a heated discussion on how the country is faring under the Narendra Modi-led Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government.

“They promise a developed India by 2047, but a ride on the country’s longest train journey shows how hollow their promises are,” adds the 35-year-old who works in a fertiliser plant, aboard the Dibrugarh–Kanniyakumari Vivek Express, which covers India’s longest train route spanning 4,189 kilometres (km) in 74 hours, with 57 stops across eight states.

“The toilets are non-functional, hawkers and food sellers enter every two minutes, even in Second AC, and the train is never on time. People say that a journey on this train is the experience of a lifetime. They are right, as one cannot imagine travelling on it twice,” Selvam scoffs in disgust.

But many of his fellow passengers beg to differ.

While they acknowledge that much remains to be done, they assert that only Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi can accomplish it.

“Who else can do it?” asks Hiren Borborua, another passenger from Assam.

“Stalin Anna (M K Stalin, chief minister of Tamil Nadu),” chips in Selvam. “A PM from South India could show what development looks like. People in the South don’t vote for the BJP because they know the difference between jumla (false promises) and real work,” he nods sagely.

However, Tapan Deka, a 40year-old tea industry worker, has only praises for Modi’s policies.

“Today, people are receiving free ration, free medicine, and loans. Not only men, but women are also benefiting from the government’s welfare schemes,” says Deka, who is on his way to Guwahati to meet his family. “The public infrastructure development in the Northeast will also help the BJP win seats,” he adds.

Most Assamese passengers on board the Vivek Express believe that the infrastructure boost will help the BJP get a third term. But they also express their worry over the lack of jobs and high inflation.

“They (the government) have constructed new roads, but I don’t own a car, so what use are they to me? First, I need a job. Only then will this infrastructure be of any use to me,” says Priyom Bora, a 22-year-old graduate who is on his way from New Tinsukia to Guwahati to enrol in a private coaching centre.

As the train crosses into West Bengal after travelling 874 km and over 24 hours, the enthusiasm for the saffron party begins to wane, and there are chants of “vote Didi ke jachhe” (the vote is going to Didi, or Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee).

Although the BJP’S campaign in Assam and Bengal focuses on the Citizenship (Amendment) Act and the National Register of Citizens, the issue hardly resonates among voters on the train.

“The BJP’S religious polarisation is helping Mamata win. Muslims don’t want to vote for them, so they are voting for Mamata,” says Debraj Ghosh, a teacher, who boarded the train from New Cooch Behar.

Saddik Khan, a government construction contractor en route to Christian Medical College (CMC) in Vellore, concurs.

“Muslims want to vote for the Congress, but they are not contesting in all the seats. This time, Isha Khan Choudhury is contesting on a Congress ticket from South Malda. He will win. However, in the seats where the Congress is not contesting, Muslims will vote for Didi. Moreover, elections in Bengal are more about muscle power, which Didi still possesses,” says Khan, who plans to vote for the Congress and is on his way to CMC Vellore to get treated for gangrene.

“Mamata has ruined the state. We don’t have government hospitals or any public infrastructure. Bengal is run by people who charged me lakhs but weren’t able to treat me. At CMC, I’ve spent less than ~500 for all medication,” he says.

However, not all are of the view that Mamata has not done enough for West Bengal.

A few point out that this train was also launched by her in 2011 when she was rail minister. The Vivek Express was launched to commemorate the 150th birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda. “It was Didi who considered the plight of poor migrants and initiated the train service, but now, hindered by the BJP’S opposition, she is unable to continue her good work,” says Prabha Jeet, a migrant worker en route to Trivandrum.

Among the eight states through which the long-haul train travels — Assam, Nagaland, West Bengal, Bihar, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu — there are a total of 162 Lok Sabha (LS) seats.

In the 2019 LS elections, the BJP stamped its dominance in the Northeast and East. It won nine of 14 seats in Assam, swept Bihar along with its alliance partner, securing 39 of 40 seats, and wrested 18 of 42 seats in Bengal, while in Odisha, it claimed eight of 21 seats. The sole seat in Nagaland was also secured by the BJP’S alliance partner.

But as the train heads into the southern states, the passengers seem less and less enamoured with the BJP. Remember that the saffron party did not win a single LS seat in Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, and Kerala in the 2019 elections.

When asked if the PM of the country should come from a southern state like Tamil Nadu, Khan says, “Why not? We would all get world-class facilities everywhere then.”

From the third day onwards, the train teems with passengers from South India, and most seem confident that Modi will not be able to make a dent in the South even this time.

“If they are confident of winning in the North, I am confident that they will hardly win 29 seats of the 129 in the five states in the South,” says Sameer Nambiar, a businessman from Kerala who is travelling from Coimbatore to Thrissur. “They say Modi is world-famous. I say that this election will prove that he is not famous even in India,” Nambiar declares.