Ahead of the Odisha Assembly polls, the Biju Janata Dal and the BJP have started making efforts to woo Odia migrant labourers in Gujarat’s Surat.
Most of these labourers are either voters in Odisha or have close relatives back home. According to an estimate, there are around 12 lakh Odia workers in Surat, who work in textile, gemstone and other industries. Of these, seven lakh are said to be from Ganjam, the home district of Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.
According to political analyst Narasingha Sahu, most of the migrant workers from Ganjam district are from the Polasara, Khallikote, Kavisuryanagar, Surada, Aska and Hinjli Assembly segments. But these migrant labourers have a say in all the 13 Assembly segments in Ganjam district.
Arrangements made
Lokanath Mishra, a social worker, said past experiences show that before elections, political leaders make arrangements for return of these migrant labourers to their homes so that they can vote.
But this time round, the BJD and the BJP have started their efforts to woo them several months before the elections.
Two weeks ago, a BJD delegation led by former State Minister and Gopalpur MLA Pradeep Panigrahy visited Surat.
BJP leaders are also sparing no efforts to woo the Odia workers in Surat. The party, with Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan leading the initiative, is chalking out a strategy to not let the BJD increase its base among Odia migrant labourers in Surat.