Breaking tradition to queue up for a cause

April 30: Bijendra Pradhan and his three brothers would have never stepped out of their Haridashatta house in Darjeeling if the election had not been fought on the Gorkhaland plank.
Having lost their mother on April 26, the brothers — according to the Nepali religious practice — have to keep themselves confined to the house for 13 days till the shradh is over. Yet, at 9.21am today, they turned up at St Teresa’s Higher Secondary School to cast their votes.
“It is time to show our unity and this vote is for a cause we believe in strongly,” said the 57-year-old Bijendra, a member of the 28-member family that had turned up to vote. The Pradhans’ decision to break tradition for the election reflects the sentiments of the hill people. Many, who would not have otherwise bothered to stand in the queue, made an exception this time.
In fact, Bijendra, who is in the tourism industry, said: “This is the first time I am casting my vote in the parliamentary election. I had exercised my franchise only at the municipality level as it directly affects us.” In previous elections, Bijendra had been in the USA. “For me, elections do not hold much interest as I was often in the US during those periods. But this time, despite our religious beliefs, I made it a point to come out of the self-imposed confinement and vote.”
Bijendra is not alone. A group of travel guides was seen heading towards Gangtok around 8am. Asked whether they had voted, they said they had come in a hired vehicle last night from Sikkim, covering a distance of 120km, only to cast their votes. “We have tourists waiting for us in Gangtok. This afternoon we have to take them for sight seeing. So, we are on our way back,” one of them said.
The half-an-hour rain in the morning could do little to dampen the spirit. Even the ballot figures spoke on the same lines. In the 2004 Lok Sabha elections, the total votes polled in the three hill subdivisions of Darjeeling, Kalimpong and Kurseong were 69 per cent. According to figures available with the election media cell till late tonight, Kalimpong had polled 79.27 per cent votes, Kurseong 82.5 per cent and Darjeeling 77.32 per cent.
The plains, which always records a higher percentage, was trailing behind till 3pm. But there were long queues later and voting continued even after 8pm at some places. Figures available two hours later showed Siliguri had polled 77.9 per cent, Matigara-Naxalbari 79.65 per cent, Phansidewa 83 per cent and Chopra polled 82 per cent. Last time the total votes polled in the plains was 72 per cent. The figures may change tomorrow when reports come in from the far-flung booths.
The high polling percentage in the hills has not come as a surprise given the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha’s call to treat the election as a “referendum” on Gorkhaland. Many voters used their thumb impression instead of signing the voter’s register. “Signing takes a lot of time. So it is better to go for the thumb impression,” said a voter who did not want to be named.
The polling agents of the BJP, which has fielded Jaswant Singh in the Darjeeling seat, were mostly women. Morcha president Bimal Gurung had wanted women to play a proactive role as he felt their contribution to the statehood cause was significant. The Morcha is now the dominant party in the hills and is backing Singh whose rivals are sitting MP Dawa Narbula of the Congress and the Left Front’s Jibesh Sarkar.
Gurung, who voted at Subash Primary School at Bara Pattabong, seemed satisfied. “I am very happy that many people who were working outside the region also turned up to cast their votes. This is an important election for us,” he said. As for Singh, he was happy that the polling in the hills was brisk and of high percentage. “Do not ask me about the plains in particular as I am the candidate for the entire constituency. I do not believe in this divide. However, I have never been ambiguous about my stand on the demand of the hill people,” Singh said here. He will leave Darjeeling tomorrow to campaign in Rajasthan where the polls are due on May 7. He will return to Darjeeling on May 10.
Surendra Gupta, the district magistrate of Darjeeling, said no major problems were reported. “At Sukhiapokhri, a woman who looked mentally challenged threw away the EVM. However it was immediately replaced.” No votes were cast in two booths at Phansidewa and four in Naxalbari because of a boycott call by the Dooars-Terai faction of the Akhil Bharatiya Adivasi Vikas Parishad.
CPM leaders from the plains said they wanted repolling in three hill subdivisions. “There is specific information of rigging in the hills by the BJP and Gorkha Janmukti Morcha. Our party could not depute agents in more than 80 per cent of the booths. The BSNL lines were blocked after 2pm to stop communication. The deployment of paramilitary forces was also not up to the mark. The chief electoral officer will be told about all this. We want repolling in all three hill subdivisions,” district Left Front convener and state urban development minister Asok Bhattacharjee said in Siliguri.
Congress leader, too, levelled similar allegations, but against the CPM. “In the booths in the plains, the CPM engaged government employees owing allegiance to the party. They tried to slow down the poll process so that after sundown they could indulge in illegal activities,” said Shankar Malakar, the Darjeeling district Congress president.