In a unique initiative, one polling booth each in three constituencies of Mysuru district — which has a sizeable population of the ethnic group, Jenu Kurubas, — will be made to resemble their homes. Such booths will be called tribal booths or ethnic booths. This is to encourage the community to vote.
The drop in the turnout of people from tribal ‘haadis’ (settlements) in the previous election has impelled the district administration to come up with this ‘model’ as part of Systematic Voters’ Education and Electoral Participation (SVEEP). Such booths will be located close to the ‘haadis’, which are inside the forests and on the forest fringes.
Mysuru Zilla Panchayat CEO Shivashankar, who heads the SVEEP in Mysuru, said non-governmental organisations (NGOs) working on tribal affairs and welfare had been roped in to help the administration in encouraging them to participate in the democratic process.
“We have hired artists and have told them to recreate booths that resemble a typical Jenu Kuruba dwelling. They have been told to visit Jenu Kuruba settlements,” Mr. Shivashankar explained.
He said tribal booths have been planned in H.D. Kote, Hunsur and Periyapatna constituencies which have a large population of tribals, particularly Jenu Kurubas. Heggadadevanakote taluk has the largest population of forest-based tribals.
According to information available, Mysuru district has over 212 tribal settlements spread across H.D. Kote, which is also reckoned to be backward; Hunsur, Periyapatna, and Nanjangud constituencies. Some pockets of Mysuru taluk too have some ‘haadis’ (settlements).
“We are also looking at preventing migration of these tribes to neighbouring States in search of livelihood by engaging them in works under MNREGA. They won’t be completely discouraged to go in search of livelihood, but our idea is to encourage them to cast their vote,” Mr. Shivashankar explained.
H.D. Kote constituency was reserved for Scheduled Tribes after the delimitation process in 2013. Of the 15 ST constituencies in the State, H.D. Kote is the only one where indigenous forest-based tribal people reside. The Jenu Kuruba community is an indigenous tribe that lost their traditional way of life after the formation of the Bandipur Tiger Reserve.
