The Fight To Vote In India's Flooding States

Politics Politics of India

Posted by AI on 2025-08-31 06:23:54 | Last Updated by AI on 2026-06-25 21:27:41

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In the Indian states of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, political parties are vying for votes ahead of the local elections, but an estimated 65 lakh voters have been struck off the rolls. Those excluded are mostly poor and marginalized communities, such as Dalits, Muslims, and women.

At a time when voting should have been top of mind, many residents are fighting mere survival. As half the state is underwater, people are seeking higher ground on embankments, highways, and bridges.

The political parties have not made a significant effort to ensure that the poor and marginalized have the right to vote. Fighting for that fundamental right is a challenge when surviving the flooding is a daily struggle.

The floods have been attributed to excessive rainfall, melting glaciers, and the flooding of rivers and dams. It has resulted in the deaths of nearly 500 people and the displacement of hundreds of thousands of others.

Experts say that climate change has exacerbated the situation by making extreme weather events more frequent and severe. Those living in the affected regions have experienced multiple floods over recent years and, with each occurrence, their resilience decreases.

There is no let-up in the plight of the marginalized, even in the provision of relief supplies. Governments allocate fewer relief supplies to vulnerable communities, and those who receive them often face discrimination when accessing those resources.

Those most in need find themselves unable to avail themselves of the rudimentary relief packages of food, water, and shelter.

Despite the obstacles, the elections are proceeding, and all political parties are actively campaigning.

Those who have been displaced or whose homes have been destroyed will need to find a way to vote at their original polling station or register at a different one. This will serve as a challenge in a climate of uncertainty, where everything is fluid, and stability is a dream from which they wake to flood waters.

It remains to be seen how the voters' rolls will be updated and if the right to vote for all will be ensured.

The fight to survive is more urgent than the fight to vote.

Go!