Will there be a time when the population of migrant workers in the State can participate in the democratic process here by casting their votes or sending their representatives to the Assembly?
The question is not raised by any group or body representing the inter-State migrant workers who are working in almost all fields of the State including construction sites, manufacturing, and agricultural sectors.
Political parties have also not come forward to raise the issue, though the Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] made an initiative to organise migrant labourers of Kannur two years ago. The State is estimated to have 25 lakh migrant workers who form a sizable demographic group.
“A group that is missing in the Assembly election is that of migrant workers,” said a participant in an online discussion group debating a whole range of issues relating to the coming election and manifestos of the rival coalitions. There may come a time when they can also cast their votes in the State and settle here, commented the participant in the discussion.
Mainstream political parties are unlikely to be very enthusiastic about the prospect of the migrant workers getting enrolled in the electoral rolls.
Prior to the last Lok Sabha election, the district Congress unit here alleged large-scale enrolment of migrant workers on the voters’ list in many places in the district with the connivance of booth-level officers.
The allegation followed a convention of migrant workers under the aegis of the CPI(M).
The migrant workers, according to another participant in the discussion, are unlikely to be interested in residence in the State.
The ability of lower end workers to develop social capital in the State is also not that high, he said, adding that the migrant workers may be discouraged to think about long-term residence in the State.
