In poll season, migrants urged to return and vote

JHABUA: With two sacks full of makka (corn cob) and other essentials, Narsingh Meda (30), his wife and three kids are waiting for a bus at the Jhabua-Gujarat border near Pittol to go to Rajkot, Gujarat, where they will work at a construction site for the next few months.

They are among hundreds of poor tribals who are migrating to Gujarat every day from Madhya Pradesh’s Jhabua and neighbouring Alirajpur districts, casting a shadow on the Assembly elections scheduled on Nov 28, say political observers.

The five assembly seats in two districts were won by BJP in 2013 polls. There are at least 50 points along the border between Jhabua and Alirajpur and Gujarat from where buses and other vehicles leave every hour for different towns in Gujarat. The tribals are packed like sardines in these vehicles, some precariously hanging from specially designed iron rods.

A senior district official estimated that 25-30% of the 18 lakh population of these two districts has migrated. This estimate is based on details of people leaving the state at border check points with Gujarat by the district officials, who are giving them ‘peeli chawal’ (rice laced with turmeric), which symbolises the promise to return for polling.

Jhabua collector Ashish Saxena says, “We have taken down their phone numbers and we will call them and urge them to come back to vote, reminding them of the promise they made while taking the ‘peeli chawal’.

We have sent teams and contacted various factory owners in Gujarat, urging them to allow their employees paid leave for voting.

This will help us in the future also in assisting the migrant workers in matters of health and education.”

This annual migration is upsetting the electoral calculations of the BJP and the Congress. It is also worrying the administration, which fears a low turnout and is taking several steps to ensure that the workers come back to vote.