Daily wagers in demand for election rallies in Punjab

Anirudh Gupta

Ferozepur, February 16

Daily wagers are in demand these days. Not because of any boom in construction projects here, but for the fact that political parties have started hiring them to “enact” as their workers in various poll gatherings to ensure optimum crowds. They are even being hired to participate in road shows and motorcycle rallies. The trend is not limited to a single political outfit; all of them are resorting to such tactics to show swelling crowds and well-attended meetings to win an edge over their rivals.

Mukhtiar Singh of Suba Kahan Chand village said he was being paid for doing nothing. “All I had to do is attend a gathering by holding a party flag. Free food is an added advantage,” he said. For bike rallies, they get free fuel from designated petrol stations. “We are happy with this trend,” said Shakeel, a migrant labourer from Bihar. Shakeel said free “booze” was also made available if rallies continued till late evening. “I have already attended four such rallies,” he said.

Sudhir Kumar, a contractor, said his boys were having a feast these days. If a rally is in the evening, they earn almost double as they work during the day and make quick bucks. Even transport facility is provided to them if the venue is at some distance. These men include painters, plumbers, tile workers and masons.

Jaswinder Singh, a contractor, said his work was suffering due to irregularity of these workers, who often skip work to attend political rallies.

Pyara Singh of Bhakhda village, is another happy worker these days. “Being a daily wager, it is not easy to purchase good quality liquor but during elections, we get uninterrupted supply,” he said. Another labourer who met The Tribune team was carrying the flag of a party which about which he was not even aware. “How does it matter whether we know about the candidate or not,” said Surinder, adding that for them, all were same.

A candidate in fray, pleading anonymity, said people were afraid of coming out in open to attend meetings. “So, we have no other choice but to hire people so that chairs do not remain vacant,” said the nominee.

Given Rs700-Rs1,000 for each event

Against the usual daily earning of Rs450 to Rs600, parties are giving them around Rs700 to Rs1,000 for each rally. Even contractors are being paid extra for bringing these labourers and daily wagers. Against each person, the contractors get around Rs200 extra over and above the settled cost per person.