For migrant voters, it means recognition

At 9 am., barely an hour into voting, polling stations across Nasirpur and Mahavir Enclave — divided between Palam and Dwarka constituencies — saw serpentine queues outside, reports Avishek G Dastidar.

At 9 am., barely an hour into voting, polling stations across Nasirpur and Mahavir Enclave — divided between Palam and Dwarka constituencies — saw serpentine queues outside.

HT Image

Voters, especially women, started crowding the assistance booths almost as soon as they opened at 8 a.m.

“Voting is like receiving recognition that we legally belong here,” said Satyendra Kumar, a voter at Palam.

The Sector Officer in these areas told HT that between 9.30 and 10 a.m., the booths in these unauthorised colonies had already recorded more than 15 per cent polling.

Echoing similar sentiments were people in Sangam Vihar in south Delhi, which also has a huge population of migrant voters from Bihar.

“The voter ID card is a very important tool for us to stake our claim in this city. Otherwise even for mere second-generation Dilliwallas, we are outsiders,” said Rajesh Kumar, a Sangam Vihar resident for the past three years.

Dipankar Gupta, political analyst from JNU, has noted this phenomenon. “For migrants, voting here is not about issues like terrorism or price rise. It is about planting their identity in this somewhat foreign land.”