The Political Interest and Voting Preferences of Seasonal Migrants: A Case Study of the Cooch Behar District of West Bengal

Abstract

Seasonal migration played a crucial role in coping with the consequences of agrarian distress and leaving a landscape of rural economic despair. Less educated and less qualified males with lower socio-economic status from rural areas migrate seasonally in search of work/employment in urban informal sectors. Sometimes these migrants faced significant hurdles in exercising voting rights, which reduced their political relevance in their native region. Their constant mobility sometimes leads to political exclusion and reduces their ability to negotiate effectively with local representatives. According to ECI, in the 2024 general election, a substantial segment of the Indian electorate (280 million out of 834 million) was unable to cast their vote because they were absent from the registered constituencies. It has been assumed that internal migration is one of the prominent reasons for such ‘lower voter turnout.’ The study examines the intricate landscape of seasonal migrants in the Cooch Behar district of West Bengal in general and their profound impacts on the politics in general. It explores the socio-economic vulnerability of seasonal migrant workers and their participation in the democratic process using field survey method from five blocks in the Cooch Behar district of West Bengal.