BY DRISHTI BHATT & JYOTI CHAUHAN SUMITRA DEVI stood on the railway platform dressed in a bright saree, holding a steel tiffin box, waiting around her luggage for the train to Patna on Wednesday. The elections back in her home state hardly interest her. “I don’t really vote, my husband takes care of the political duties”, she tells The Indian Express.
The Ahmedabad Railway Station that had been buzzing with migrants heading back home to Bihar for Chhath Puja and the general elections, seemed to be returning to normal. In order to control crowds at the train stations and prevent accidents, Western Railway authorities had stopped selling platform tickets at the Ahmedabad and Sabarmati railway stations from October 16-27. Story continues below this ad On Wednesday, as the Ahmedabad-Patna Express chugged in to the platform there was a rush of people, the tea vendors became active and the announcements on the microphone blended into the familiar sounds of the railway station.
A ticket examiner from Begusarai stood on the platform in his crisp uniform with an expression bordering on fatigue, having seen hundreds of travellers every day. When asked about people heading to Bihar to vote, he said — “You won’t find many Bihari people here as most of them have already gone home for Chhath Puja.
” He adjusted his cap and added, “I’m also from Bihar, and honestly, it’s kind of scary there these days. Just last week, two parties were holding a rally and there was a fight — one person was killed. ” He goes on to add how people in his home state didn’t “question the government enough.
” “And if anyone is educated enough in Bihar, they won’t go there for elections — they already know how much corruption is prevalent,” the TTE added. Story continues below this ad Then there are the likes of Ramesh Yadav from Darbhanga. He now lives in Morbi and was heading to Patna.
His face was sunburned, his hands rough from labour, but his tone was calm when he spoke. Asked about the elections, he said — “Neither I nor my family votes.
Politicians lie a lot and they only care for their seat. They come and talk to us before the election, but after that they don’t do much for us. So we don’t go (to vote),” he told The Indian Express.
The first phase of polling will be held on Thursday in Bihar, a state that sends lakhs of migrants to Gujarat, to work in the textile mills of Surat and as skilled labourers in other districts. The second phase of voting will take place on November 11. As the train to Patna rolled in, the railway platform that had looked sparse suddenly became crowded, people with bags rushed to board, and left to witness yet another election 1,660 km away.
(Drishti Bhatt & Jyoti Chauhan are interns at the Ahmedabad office of The Indian Express).