Internal Migrants and Voting Participation Constraints: A Study in Delhi

Abstract

The Census of 2011 recorded about 450 million internal migrants in India, who changed their place of residence within and between states for economic and educational reasons among others. Many of them retain their voting rights at their native place, as they do not shift permanently. Such migrants do, and are expected to, visit their constituency and cast their vote at the local polling booths during the time of election. However, many of them also stay away from their native places even at the time of election. This has implications for their electoral and political participation and the democratic process at large. This article attempts to elaborate how the spatial distance restrains a significant section of population from participating in the electoral system, drawing on the experiences of internal migrants in Delhi region.