Wondering where your maid or car washer has vanished? They are probably in their village waiting for party contenders to come and offer them “goodies” for their vote.
Wondering where your maid or car washer has vanished? They are probably in their village waiting for party contenders to come and offer them “goodies” for their vote. Apart from money, these parties also offer hand pumps, toilets, boundary walls and land to tempt voters.
Sonu Jha, a driver in Delhi, is leaving for his village in Darbanga, Bihar, to cast his vote. According to him, “I am not enthusiastic about voting, but I’m going because we hope to get a proper toilet this time. Last time round, the ruling party gave us a hand pump.”
The goodies come at a price. Political parties offer these amenities to families that have more than five members and all have to turn up at the polling booth on voting day to cash in on the freebies.
Shanti Devi, a maid in Gurgaon, is the eldest of a family of 12. She says, “My big family gains during such major elections. Last time, we got land and a hand pump for our 12 votes in Papuri village, West Bengal. This year we will ask for a boundary wall. Parties like the BJP also come up to us.” The bargain is simple. A party worker visits the house and shows them what is on offer. The head of the household makes his choice in return for a promise that all members of the household will vote for a particular party.
“My house in Madhubani, Bihar never had a toilet. We used to go to the fields in the morning. In the last elections, we got a toilet for the seven votes we cast for the party that built it for us,” says Chandar Bose, a tea stall vendor. He refused to name the party though.
If all members of the family do not make it to the booth on voting day, there’s a price to be paid, as Kaniskh Chauhan, a car washer in Noida, found out. “My family still holds a grudge against me and my family for not reaching Bokaro on time during the last elections. We got a toilet instead of the land we were promised because our household did not vote in full strength. My relatives still don’t let me enter the village,” he said.“
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