Free UDF, LDF buses depart with over 700 Kerala voters

Thirteen Kerala-bound buses packed with United Democratic Front (UDF) voters were flagged off from the city's Kalasipalya bus stand on Monday night. Each one of those estimated 700 voters had a mission: To vote for UDF candidates on May 23, paying zero up and down bus fare.

The Left Democratic Front (LDF) voters too had their vehicles. But the UDF was apparently the first to strike a deal with an active social organisation in Bengaluru, aligned with the Congress ideology, to mobilise the voters.

Six of those buses were destined for Vadakara in Kerala's Kozhikode district, another six for Kannur while one bus was assigned for voters in Ponnani in Malappuram district. The destinations were all in North Kerala.

The UDF wing had its coordinators quiz the voters before they boarded the bus: Would they vote for a UDF candidate? Preferring anonymity, a coordinator told DH: “I am sure 99% of them will only vote for us.”

That confidence stemmed from the Front's efforts in booking 13 KSRTC buses so that the voters need not worry about transport. “All the private bus operators were charging double, even triple the fare. For many voters, who had shut their shops in the city for a day, our buses were a godsend.”

The coordinator said the turnout was so overwhelming that many had to be sent back as the buses were full by Sunday. No requests for boarding were taken on Monday.