GUWAHATI: Close to 12,000 displaced Bru (Reang) voters defied distance and age to turn up in large numbers to exercise their franchise at the special polling booths in Kanhmun village in Mamit district of Mizoram on a day that assumes significance for not just the community but democracy.
Around 15 polling booths were under strict vigil of security forces as the inmates of the transit camps in Tripura travelled between 76km (Hazacherra camp) and 56km (Nasingpara camp) from the wee hours of Wednesday as they joined the rest of Mizoram to elect their representatives to the 40-member Mizoram Assembly.
Reportedly, as many as 541 vehicles were assigned by the Tripura government to transport the voters to the polling booths set up near the inter-state border.
Over 32,000 people from the community have since the tension-triggered exodus in 1996, taken shelter at transit camps in Naisingpara, Ashapara, Hazacherra, Kaskaupara, Khakchangpara and Hamsapara in Tripura.
Speaking to The Shillong Times from Mamit over phone, GB Herbert Reang, the president of the Mizoram Bru Indigenous Democratic Movement (MBIDM), said that the day assumed significance for the people of the community.
“This is a significant day for the 11,987 displaced Reang voters. The mood among the voters is upbeat even as they had to take the trouble of travelling from as far as 76km to the polling station near the border. Some vehicles broke down mid way and as a result, they arrived late. Besides, many elders, pregnant women and women with infants, had to face difficulty to travel this far to cast their votes and stand in queue under a scorching sun,” Reang said.
“Many were still in queue after 4pm . But it is unfortunate that around 300 voters, who arrived at the polling booths by 2.30pm, were not allowed to vote by the polling officials after 3pm,” he said.
Young Mizo Association (Kanhmun branch), a frontline organization which had strongly advocated for the Bru voters to vote in Mizoram and not from their camps, lent a helping hand in making arrangements including food, for the voters who came from the transit camps.
“Yes, food had been arranged for the voters at the polling booths, which is good. However, only those who had cast their votes were served meals,” Reang said.
Several Bru voters also said that they had come to the polling booth in accordance with the directions of the Election Commission of India.
“We have come to Mizoram as the Election Commission had arranged this special polling booth for us, even as we had to travel long distances to get to the booths,” a voter said.
There has been no untoward incident till the filing of this report. Approximately, 70 per cent had cast their votes in Mizoram at 4pm, state election officer, Ashish Kundra told the media.
“At Kanhmun, 6284 (52 per cent) of the Bru voters had cast their votes till the scheduled voting time. The figures are likely to increase,” Kundra said.