Fifty days ago the Tamil Nadu Government Transport Corporation Staff Federation, a non- political organisation, made a representation to the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) seeking postal ballot to benefit thousands of drivers and conductors of the Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation (TNSTC) and State Express Transport Corporation (SETC).
But like the elections in the past this year too the Election Commission has neither replied them nor made any arrangements for postal ballots. “Our federation is making representations for postal ballots since 1998. A dozen assemblies, parliamentary and local body elections have passed. But our grievance is yet to be redressed,” the federation’s Coimbatore Division Secretary K. Elangovan said.
“Of about 12,000 bus drivers and conductors in this division (covering four districts) nearly 1,000 of them covering long distances would not be able to cast their votes on May 16. Excluding Chennai division the seven other divisions operate long distance buses. The SETC operates 1,260 buses. A few thousand employees operating those buses would not be able to cast their vote,” he added.
Mr. Elangovan claimed that confirmed (permanent) drivers and conductors have the option of availing leave, but a few hundred employed as casual labourers don’t have the luxury. “It should be their day of rest if they should be lucky enough to exercise their franchise,” he said and added that this poses a threat to Election Commission’s goal of making 100 per cent polling possible.
Drivers operating long distance buses said that they take people to their home town for polling but they themselves would not be able to cast their vote this time too.
Responding to this, a senior TNSTC official here said that the situation was not as alarming as claimed by trade unions, drivers and conductors. He clarified that they have neither received any representation from trade unions seeking postal ballot nor any instruction from the Election Commission.
“We adjust their shifts in such a way that staff from other districts or those driving long distances buses cast the vote before or after duty. On the other hand, there are more than half a dozen trade unions affiliated to some political party or the other and in all the depots 20 to 30 per cent of the drivers – attached to the trade unions – are already on leave for the election campaigns and for voting.
According to the official, during elections in the past nearly 50 per cent of drivers and conductors have availed leave for elections – as directed by the Election Commission. He said that the local bus drivers and conductors cast their vote before or after their duty hours,” he said. He added that this does not affect their regular operations, as only skeletal strength is required for the minimum passenger movement on that day.
