Lok Sabha polls 2014: NRIs flying home in droves to vote in elections

NEW DELHI: Expatriates, eager to participate in one of the most hotly contested elections of recent times, are flying back home in droves to exercise their franchise.

Banker and author Sanjeev Sanyal tweeted last night: “My Singapore Air flight to Delhi was packed with people flying back to vote - incredible - this is what revolutions feel like.”

India’s elections kicked off on Monday with polls to six seats. Thursday saw voting in 92 seats across 14 states and Union territories, including Delhi, Kerala and parts of Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra and Orissa. Of the 11,844 who registered as non-resident Indian (NRI) voters online, 11,400 are from Kerala. Others who are coming may already have their names on the electoral rolls.

The rush because of people heading back home in time to vote was evident at Kochi airport. A senior official at the airport said on condition of anonymity that there was a shortage of luggage trolleys in the early hours of Wednesday. “Surprisingly, flights came in full,” he said. The number of passengers rose 10% to 8,000 from the daily average of 7,200, said the official.

The airport official said many people could be combining their holiday time with the opportunity to exercise their franchise. It’s close to the Vishu festival that ushers in the Malayalam New Year. “And why not if they are spending money to fly in anyway?” he said.

An official of a Middle Eastern airline said flights to Thiruvananthapuram have been full for the last two weeks.

Indian-American businessman Chandrakant Patel, who heads Overseas Friends of BJP in the US, had told ET earlier that nearly 5,000 NRIs are expected to fly home from there before the general election. Most of them are registered voters.

Likewise, around 3,500 people from the UK plan to travel to India to vote and also campaign for their party of choice.

Meanwhile, it may become easier for NRIs to cast their vote without having to fly back home but not just yet.

In February, Indranil Sinha, who holds a doctorate in bioscience and is based in Sweden, was the first NRI to register as a voter in Jharkhand’s Deoghar district by applying online.

“I am registered as a voter and I was hoping the Election Commission would allow NRIs to either vote online or through Indian embassies,” Sinha said on the phone from Stockholm. That’s not happened.