The lost voice: Millions of migrant workers fail to cast vote

Neeraj Mohan

New Delhi, May 23

Jabbar Khan, a 51-year-old migrant agricultural labourer, has not cast his vote in any election in 25 years, after he left his home at Araria (Bihar) in search of work.

EC should chalk out special provisions

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Experts suggest that the EC should chalk out special provisions for ensuring that migrants can exercise voting rights, on the patterns of the Kashimiri migrants, who have special rights to cast votes from their place of residence.

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Electoral participation of the entire labour class remains a complex issue. Economic necessity often outweighs civic duties, as most labourers do not want to cast their vote at the cost of their daily wages. — Vijay Walia, Patiala-based labour rights activist

The cost of travelling back home to exercise his franchise is a luxury that he cannot afford as it will take him a week to return to his work after voting.

“Feeding our family is more important than elections. We cannot leave work and go back to cast our vote,” said Jabbar, who leads a group of six people, all hailing from the Saidpur village of Araria district of Bihar, where voting was done on May 7.

Jabbar and his co-workers and fellow migrants from Bihar — Rasid, Saud, Chandan, Raja and Arvind — represent millions of migrant labourers, who are unable to exercise their fundamental right to vote, primarily due to job commitments and financial restrains.

As per the findings, the problem is not only confined to agricultural labourers. Millions of construction workers and labourers in vegetable and grain markets and thousands of people employed in various private and public sectors also struggle to return to their hometowns to cast their vote. This disenfranchisement leaves a large chunk of population away from the election.

Most of the workers and labourers have not transferred their voter registrations to their current places of work. Election experts have cited it as a key factor behind the low voter participation in the country, which is currently stuck around 65 per cent.

Since Bihar and Uttar Pradesh record the maximum migration of residents to other states for employment, these states also witnessed the lowest voter participation in the ongoing Lok Sabha election, after Jammu and Kashmir.

According to the 2011 Census, India has 41.4 million inter-state migrant workers, with 3.156 million individuals migrating for jobs from UP. The findings were reiterated by a 2020-21 survey, which revealed that UP ranks among the top migrant-sending states in India – 12.32 million inter-state migrants and 52 million internal migrants.

The e-Shram portal of the Union Government has registered 296 million unorganised workers in the country, with nearly 50 per cent of these workers being employed away from their native places. It has recorded around 83.4 million registered labourers in UP, the highest in the country.

As per the data of the Census in 2011, there are 414 million inter-state migrant workers in the country. However, there are no latest figures on their population, but the International Labour Organisation (ILO) puts the figure at 450 million, expecting it to rise to 500 million by 2030.

The figures by the EC revealed that in the 2019 General Election, 300 million eligible voters did not cast their ballots. Although not all of these non-voters are migrant workers, but the lack of mobility among various groups, including migrant workers, significantly impedes their ability to vote.

Ramji Lal, a political observer and retired professor of political science, said, “The disenfranchisement of millions of migrant workers is a glaring issue in India’s democracy. As economic imperatives take precedence over electoral participation, it is crucial to address the systemic barriers that prevent these workers from voting.”

The experts suggest that the Election Commission should chalk out special provisions for ensuring that migrants can exercise voting rights, on the patterns of the Kashimiri migrants, who have special rights to cast votes from their place of residence.