They might not been been targeted specifically as a vote bank by any political party, but members of the traditionally nomadic Bagri lohar community in Dehradun cast their votes enthusiastically with the hope that the next Government at the Centre would provide them homes and facilitate development.
Working as blacksmiths in temporary shelters on the roadside while living in shacks on a neighbouring plot along Saharanpur Road, a group of more than a dozen illiterate members of the Bagri lohar community expressed their enthusiasm for polling. Badal said that he had voted in the hope of getting a home and enjoying the benefits of development. “We are traditionally nomadic but have been living on this plot for about 12 years now. We live and work besides an open drain. I voted with the hope that the new Government at the Centre will facilitate homes and development for us too,” he said.
Another community member Rohtash, aged 32 years, cast his vote for the first time with the hope of enjoying development under a new Government. “There are numerous members of our community in Dehradun but some have got homes while many are still homeless. We voted for the ‘lotus’ so that the next Government at the Centre provides us homes and improves our condition,” he said.
Another member of the community, Mahender said that though all eligible voters had filled the forms for getting voter ID cards, only some of them got these. “Those of us who got their voter I-cards didn’t have to spend any money while those of us who didn’t get these were asked for Rs 350 each for getting the voter I-cards from the Government office. I wanted to vote for development but couldn’t do so without a voter I-card,” said the disappointed Mahender.
Other members of this community blamed the authorities for not providing them with either voter I-cards or voter slips, while adding that people like themselves feel neglected by the authorities and the politicians who have been representing the public so far.