The ‘Mumbaikars’ of Karnataka are home to vote in Assembly Elections 2018

Suresh Krishne Gowda, in his early 40s, is excited to be back in his village Dadigatte in Chennarayapatna taluk of Hassan district. Seven of his friends from neighbouring villages, who work in Mumbai like him, also reached their villages last week.

They are among the roughly a lakh people from villages in Chennarayapatna, Sravanabelogola and Hole Narasipura Assembly constituencies in Hassan district and K.R. Pete, Nagamanagala and Melukote constituencies in Mandya district, who work in Mumbai. Many of them are home already or are returning by Friday morning ahead of the elections on Saturday. School holidays have also contributed to their increased number this time.

“Though we did not get reservation, we managed to reach Chennarayapatna somehow,” said Mr. Suresh, who currently works as a manager at a hotel in Mumbai.

The Mumbai connection of these villages dates back to the 1960s when there were hardly any employment opportunities in Bengaluru. The rain-dependent regions of Hassan and Mandya, where a large part is also irrigated by Cauvery and its tributary Hemavathy, would often see successive rain deficit years. This was when hordes of poverty-stricken villagers, not knowing what was in store for them in Mumbai and without knowing any language other than Kannada, left their villages. Over the generations, they have managed to keep their ties with the villages intact.

These ‘Mumbaikars’ not only kept in touch with their community back home but also helped decide elections.They were credited for the victory of incumbent K.R. Pete MLA Narayan Gowda, who himself had made it big in Mumbai and entered the fray last time. “We matter to the political leaders. Some of them arrange for buses to bring migrant workers back for voting. This time at least 10 buses have been booked,” said Narayan Muni Gowda of Yeladalli Kopplu in K.R. Pete taluk, who is a former employee of BARC.

Lakshman Thimmappa Gowda was just nine in 1961 when he, unable to bear the poverty, walked to Arasikere (a railway junction), about 65 km from his village Kumbenahalli, and caught a train to Bombay. Sensing business opportunities, he started private bus services from these taluks, which were not connected by even government buses. “Today Bengaluru has jobs, which was not the case back then,” he said.

Today, the connectivity between small taluk centres such as K.R. Pete, Sravanabelogola and Chennarayapatna is so high that as many as eight private buses and two state-run KSRTC buses connect them to Mumbai everyday.

“We are asking our representatives to do something for our villages. I have 14 acres of land, but the coconut trees we planted from the money I earned in Mumbai wilted. Why would I go to Mumbai if I can get water here? These issues were not raised before, but they are being raised now and politicians cannot take us for granted for ever,” Mr. Suresh said.