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Bihar: Polls looming, parties scramble to woo returning migrants
PATNA
PATNA
The homecoming of thousands of migrant workers since the Covid-19 lockdown began on March 24 and realisation that they may not be in a hurry this time to return to big cities outside the state for work has woken up political parties in poll-bound Bihar to the need of wooing them aggressively.
After initial reluctance to facilitate the return of these migrants citing fear of spread of the pandemic, the NDA government led by Nitish Kumar is now scrambling to find ways for their employment back home.
More than 82,544 people, majority of them migrant labourers, have returned to Bihar during the lockdown 3, after central government started running special trains for ferry people stuck at different places and willing to go back home. Before that, as per government records, 1.80 lakh had come after lockdown was announced for the first time.
“The CM has made it clear that this is the time to convert challenges into opportunities. The idea of skill mapping of returning migrants is to ensure better utilization of their services,” said JD (U) spokesperson Rajiv Ranjan, who attended a meeting of office-bearers of his party that was chaired the chief minister on Thursday. Ranjan conceded that these workers would play a crucial role in elections.
“Those who had returned or are returning are here to stay. They are not returning to their workplace for at least two years as they do not want to go back,” said BJP MLC and former union minister Sanjay Paswan.
The BJP leader, who is on lien professor of labour and social welfare at Patna University, feels their return is good for the ruling alliance. “A majority of them, about 75%, are from extremely backward castes, 20% are SCs/STs and barely 5% are from upper caste. The caste profile of the migrants suits us, even though they are a bit against us as on today due to vacillation of the state government over their return,” Paswan says. “All we need to do is to accommodate them, think about their re-employment so that there is no social unrest.”
Opposition Congress was quick to claim credit for the return of migrants. “From the very beginning. Congress has been demanding that the central and state governments facilitate return journey of migrant labourers to Bihar and to their respective states. But neither paid any heed,” state Congress president Madan Mohan Jha said.
Experts believe a meaningful utilisation of migrants’ skills can bring benefits. “They are skilled to perform in primary as well as service sectors. If the government meaningfully links them with the help of financial institutions, they will make Bihar shine,” says D M Diwakar, formery with AN Sinha Institute of Social Studies.
Shefali Roy, head of department (political science) at Patna University, says, “Elitist democracy thrives on votes of the poor and wealth of the rich. Initially, the Bihar government was reluctant in giving any respite to them. It suddenly became active realising potential of labourers as voters. The announcement of government to give Rs 1500 (500+1000) to each of them after 21 days of quarantine period is a strategy to woo the future voters. Memory is short so the troubles will soon be forgotten by labourers and cash will definitely soften their opinion towards government.”
BJP’s state president Sanjay Jaiswal is of the opinion that the returning migrants would be a big asset in turning around fortunes of the state.
“They have been instrumental in development of Maharashtra, Punjab, Delhi, Gujarat and several states. We welcome them. They are good omen for us,” said state BJP spokesperson Prem Ranjan Patel.
