Parties source electoral rolls to reach out to migrant voters

The fact that migrant votes could swing the pendulum in their favour has been on the minds of national political parties who are scurrying to secure every single vote that can help them gain ground over their rivals. The parties are thus reaching out to those voters who migrated from Gundlupet taluk to Kerala and other districts in search of jobs.

National parties had already been briskly campaigning for their respective candidates but they have now started making calls to the migrants. The parties have been trying to convince voters to return to the district before April 9 to cast their votes in favour of their candidates.
Parties are going all out to persuade migrants that their vote could make a difference. With the polling only a few days away, party functionaries have sourced the electoral list with the photographs of voters. Leaders visit villages and collect information from local workers about those who have migrated to other places. They later call the voters luring them to return for a day to cast their vote.

A multitude of issues have contributed to people migrating from Gundlupet. The most prominent among those being a failure of both pre and post monsoon rains pushing the region to a severe drought. Moreover, Gram Panchayats too failed to provide jobs to locals under National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA). With agricultural activities coming to a nought, most people moved to other districts and Kerala in search of jobs.

Under NREGA, each labourer is paid Rs 224 per day in the district but they are not paid on a daily basis. The amount is also remitted directly to their bank accounts which left the beneficiaries unhappy. They would frequently argue with the officials seeking payments on time.

Annurukeri, Bheemanabeedu, Shivapura, Koothanuru, Bannitalapura, Berambadi, Channamallipura, Kaggaladahundi are the areas worst affected by drought and people here have moved to estates in Kerala to eke out a living. Some have also become construction workers as estate owners and construction companies in Kerala pay labourers Rs 500 to Rs 600 per day.