Among the homeless voters in the Capital is a 25-year-old differently abled married woman who has always voted for NOTA; a 27-year-old Hardoi resident whose family is a traditional Congress voter; a 54-year-old who has heard BJP’s name a lot recently and a group of people who are extremely happy with AAP’s work.
Sonia, a differently abled woman who begs outside a temple in Vivek Vihar and casts her vote in New Seemapuri, said that she resorted to begging in 2014 after she lost her job as a telecaller in Narayana Vihar and was shown the door everywhere she went asking for a job.
“I have always voted for NOTA [None of the Above] because no government has actually done anything for the differently abled. I hold a diploma in computers and I have completed Higher Secondary education but wherever I look for a job, they said I am physically challenged and unfit for employment,” she said.
Disability pension
She said that she had no other option than to resort to begging because her husband is a rickshaw puller and it is tough to manage the household with his income. Sonia has two daughters from her first marriage and an 11-month-old daughter with her second husband.
Sonia also complained of not receiving the full amount of disability pension which is ₹2,500 per month. “I still get ₹1,500 a month. I have approached every office and submitted all my documents because I am an educated woman. However, nothing has been done so far. Why should I vote for any government?” she said.
Sumit, a 42-year-old resident of Uttar Pradesh who is a Delhi voter and begs on the streets in Jhilmil, is of the view that “ jhaadu ne accha kaam kiya hai [ Aam Aadmi Party has done good work]”. He and a bunch of fellow mates who sat with him listed how the Delhi government under AAP has benefited them.
“I remember we used to pay for medicines and now they are free, so is our treatment. Yes, we are not treated as equals with those who have money but we still have a place where we can get treatment and medicines,” he said calling Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal “Gareebon ka Malik”. Sumit started begging two years ago after meeting with an accident that left his leg injured. He used to work as a labourer earlier.
Vishnu, 40, said he is the happiest for being able to bathe and wash his clothes any number of times and in comparatively cleaner washrooms and toilets. “Earlier there were less number of toilets and they were mostly found shut. Now, the caretaker has to mark his presence thrice so he cannot leave the place. We can use these public toilets any time as we do not have a place to bathe or wash otherwise,” he said.
An exception
Raj Kumar, 27, who begs outside a temple, has a different view towards elections. Hailing from Uttar Pradesh’s Hardoi, he said that his family has always voted for the Indian National Congress and that they do not give much though before the polling day. “However, my brother and his family are Delhi voters from Pandav Nagar and they have previously voted for the broom. Their decision will remain the same this year also because no other party has done anything for the poor except AAP,” he said.
Rajendra Kumar, who has been begging for the last 19 years after his mother passed away and was kicked out by his brother, said that he has heard about the BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi a lot lately because of the recent Balakot strike and that is enough for him to make up his mind. “ BJP hi hai ji… aur kisi ka naam to zyada suna nai hai [ BJP is the only option… haven’t heard much about other party],” he said.
