Copyright news18
The election fever in Bihar has spread in Bengaluru, especially across clusters known locally as ‘Chhota Bihar’, where the Bihari migrant population lives in large numbers. Interestingly, the Prashant Kishor-led Jan Suraj Party (JSP) is making a targeted pitch to this massive migrant community, urging them to return home and vote for “education and employment”. ‘Bengaluru Se Bihar Badlo’ is the push made by Kishor’s JSP, calling on Biharis living outside the state to take the lead in rewriting Bihar’s political story. It is estimated that Bengaluru has close to eight lakh Bihari blue-collar workers and nearly another two lakh white-collar professionals in the city. Kishor’s JSP to Shivakumar’s Congress: The Bihar poll pull in Bengaluru The narrow lanes of Doddanekundi in East Bengaluru houses ‘Chhota Bihar’. From those working in construction, transportation to delivery riders and techies, there is a considerable chunk of the population that has made this southern city their home. But politics from back home has now travelled south and today, they are the very target of election campaigns. While the Bihari population has largely settled in clusters around the city such as the transportation hub of Yeshwanthpur, the Peenya Industrial Estate, and areas around Whitefield and HSR Layout, the political messaging has spread across these neighbourhoods. Like the JSP, the Congress, which is in power in Karnataka, is also making an outreach to the community. Congress ministers such as Revenue minister Krishna Byre Gowda have been seen celebrating Chhath Puja with the Bihari community in the city, while Karnataka’s Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar made an unusual political move last week, appealing to companies in Bengaluru to grant three days of paid leave to their Bihari employees so they can travel home and vote. “It’s only fair,” Shivakumar said, calling it a gesture of respect towards migrant workers who have “helped build Karnataka’s economy.” JSP’s pitch For Kishor’s Jan Suraj Party, the message is simple — migration can be reversed only when governance improves. Dr Nischith K. R., one of the coordinators of JSP in Bengaluru, told News18 that their campaign among the Bihari community has focused on two key messages. “We are not directly seeking votes from them when we meet them in trains, buses or markets. We tell them — don’t vote for those who made you vote on caste or religion. Ask who made you unemployed or uneducated — don’t vote for them. It is because of such voting that you migrated from Bihar to Bengaluru, because there were no opportunities back home,” said Dr Nischith, who recently joined JSP and is a practising community medicine doctor. Bihar’s biggest export has been its people, and Kishor’s campaign flips that narrative — by asking them to become agents of transformation instead of victims of migration. Those who have been campaigning for JSP say they have even faced local pushback in industrial areas, where they were accused of taking away labourers in the name of asking them to go home and vote. “Don’t vote for those who made you unemployed, uneducated, and pushed you into poverty,” said Nischith. The campaign’s core message, he says, is that voters in Bihar must vote for employment and education. “We explained to them that whatever they have voted for till now, they got that. You voted for caste — that’s why your MLA flies in a helicopter. You voted for Modi’s face — that’s why his face shines on TV. So whatever you voted for, you got it. This time, vote differently — vote for employment and education. That’s the message we have to give,” he said. The Jan Suraj Party has made the southern city a key outreach zone. Small meetings, pamphlet drives, and social media groups have sprung up across migrant settlements over the last month. “We are not just workers here. We are voters too,” says Ravi Kumar, a 28-year-old plumber from Samastipur, who lives with seven others in a tin-roofed room in Laggere. “Every month, we send money home, but this time, they are saying — send yourself. Go vote.” “We left Bihar because it offered no jobs, but now they’re saying go back and fix it,” says Mukesh Yadav, a construction worker in Electronic City. “If I get leave, I’ll go.” Shivakumar’s Congress outreach also caught the headlines as he urged companies and contractors to allow migrant workers from Bihar three days of paid leave to travel back and vote. “Biharis have played a huge role in building Bengaluru,” Shivakumar said. “It’s only fair that they get the opportunity to build their state too — through their vote.” JSP members, however, say the Congress outreach came a little too late. “The Congress may have announced this in Karnataka, but those who were committed to voting had already left for their hometowns in Bihar on Monday. That’s just another political ploy,” said Dr Nischith.
