Bihari guest workers in TN left clueless on electoral rollrevision
's special intensive revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls in Bihar, ahead of the assembly election scheduled to take place later this year, the fates of lakhs of guest workers keen on exercising their voting right hangs in the balance.
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Under the exercise, around four crore of the eight crore voters in Bihar will have to submit documents proving their citizenship to enumerators by July 25, failing which their names will be excluded from the rolls. Analysts have pointed out that a huge chunk of the electorate comprising illiterate and underserved voters might not have one of the 11 documents that the Commission demands (including domicile and caste certificates) as proof of citizenship, and might not be in a position to furnish them before the deadline.
The development has shocked 4.5 lakh people from Bihar in
, of which an estimated 2 lakh are in Chennai. They include workers in the construction, hospitality, and logistics industries as well as college students. While the Supreme Court had suggested last week that the EC accept Aadhaar, its own identity card, and ration card as documents for voter re-verification, there seems to be an air of uncertainty regarding the way forward.
"Since the announcement, we have been flooded with calls," says Mukesh Kumar Thakur, Secretary of Bihar Association, Chennai, and also Secretary of the Bihar Foundation, Chennai Chapter. "Some people have voter ID cards from Bihar, while their Aadhaar and ration cards have a Chennai address. They're worried that their names might get struck off owing to duplication. We have instructed them to approach their ward members.
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" Many workers are relying on relatives from their native constituencies to send them the necessary forms. Sanjay Kumar Jha, a logistics worker from Ambattur, who has lived in Chennai for 25 years with his family, plans on travelling to Bihar to get his verification done, as his Aadhaar bears a Chennai address, while the voter ID is of Bihar.
In a majority of cases, workers have not been intimated about how to proceed with the revision process.
Rajdev Kumar, a hotel employee in the city, fears the absence of awareness among guest workers could lead to mass exclusion from the electoral rolls. A similar fear has enveloped guest workers in other parts of TN. "Only a few among the daily wage workers from Bihar are educated, and they might be in a position to provide school or birth certificates.
I have been working in Tamil Nadu for 15 years and all I have as proof are my Aadhaar and PAN cards," explained Rajesh Sah, employed at a private factory near Thaneerpandal road, Coimbatore. Others lament that the deadline for furnishing the necessary details is too short.
With inputs from Anushka Juliet, Deepak Karthick, Vivanesh Parthiban
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