MP assembly polls: Thousands of migrant workers return to Chhatarpur, responding to call for increased voter participation

Chhatarpur (Madhya Pradesh) [India], November 16 : Madhya Pradesh is gearing up for polls on Friday, and in preparation, thousands of migrant workers in Chhatarpur district have arrived to exercise their franchise, responding to the district administration's call.
Over the past two days, migrant labourers from Chhatarpur living in different parts of the country for work have been arriving in the district to cast their votes.
This comes after the district administration set up a call centre to reach out to migrant workers scattered across the country.
With meticulous effort, authorities compiled a list of 31,500 identified migrant workers and also extended invitations to exercise their fundamental right to vote in the assembly polls scheduled for Friday.
District administration authorities formed teams that travelled to Delhi, Haryana, Gurgaon, Jammu and Kashmir, and other places, connecting with the migrant workers and encouraging them to return for voting.
They emphasised the importance of migrant voters participating in the polls and symbolically tied a thread of voters to the labourers, appealing to their sense of responsibility.
District collector Sandeep GR said, "A call centre was set up to inform the migrant labourers, and a list was also prepared in which 31500 migrant workers were identified. Along with this, four teams were also formed, and they went to Delhi, Haryana, Gurgaon, Jammu and Kashmir, and other places and invited the migrant labourers of the district to vote. A thread of voters was also tied to labourers, appealing to them to come back and to vote."
"There is a problem of migration in the Bundelkhand and Chhatarpur regions. The labourers were invited, and many people returned here. All the voters in the district are appealed to exercise their franchise in the poll tomorrow," the collector said.
Expressing enthusiasm, Ankit, a migrant worker from Delhi, stated, "Voting is our right, and the administration appealed to us to vote, so we have come here."
Even those from far-off places like Jammu made the journey especially to participate in the polling.
"We have come from Jammu to vote in the poll tomorrow. There is no work at the moment. We did not come during the festival, but we came to vote. In Jammu, we work as daily wage labourers earning Rs 200-500 and have come to vote bearing the travel expenses of our own," Bhagwati, a woman labourer, said.
Sameer Khan, an autorickshaw driver near the railway station, also noticed a surge in people returning for the polls and pointed out a trend surpassing even the festive crowds during Diwali.
"A large number of people are coming for polling. Because of this, we are getting a good number of passengers. We are earning a good profit, and the same is expected in the future too. We did not get this kind of profit even on Diwali," he pointed out.
As polling day approaches, the district anticipates a significant voter turnout. Polling will be held in all 230 Assembly constituencies. The counting of votes will take place on December 3.