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assembly POlls 2012
Ludhiana’s migrants plan to vote in two states
Puneet Pal Singh Gill
Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, January 18
It is not only the NRIs who are flying back home to support their friends and favourite candidates contesting the state Assembly elections, but also the migrant population - hailing from Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand - in this industrial city is all set to pack their bags for a vacation back home. And this vacation also has a prize attached.

Migrants said that candidates in their respective towns in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand are offering Rs 10,000-Rs 15,000 per family (depending on the number of voters) if they return home to vote for them. It is learnt that the migrant population was in constant touch with their relatives back home who keep them updated about such offers.

“I got a call from my relative in Kamlapur village near Lucknow. He told me that one of the political parties contesting the Uttar Pradesh elections is offering Rs 10,000 for a family with four voters. More the number of voters in a family, more would be the offer,” said Radhe Lal, a rickshaw puller residing in Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar area of the city.

The offers range from providing monetary benefits to job promises, mobile phones, TV sets, DVD players etc.

In Ludhiana, nearly 2 lakh migrants from states like Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Uttarakhand, Orissa, Jharkhand and others are registered as voters.

“While in Punjab, the elections are on January 30, the first phase of elections in Uttar Pradesh is in the first week of February. Some of us feature on the voters’ list in Ludhiana as well as in our village in UP.

“As a result, we can easily vote at both the places. Besides, we will be paid travelling expenses and some additional benefits,” said Pandit, who hails from a village near Allahabad and runs a tea stall in the city.

Not only are the leaders in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand in constant touch with ‘their’ voters in Ludhiana, but even candidates in Punjab are in touch with their NRI voters who are settled in countries across the globe.

“Some NRIs are registered as voters in the district and that is why we are urging them to come and cast their vote in our favour,” said an Akali candidate in the district.