Vrindavan: As politicians woo people from all sections of society this polls season, a forgotten lot continues to live a life of oblivion and abjectness — the widows of Vrindavan. Banished by their families and abandoned, the widows here are even ignored by politicians as well for most of them are not registered voters.
The widows also don’t seem to care much about their political irrelevance as many of them believe that their situation would remain the same irrespective of who is in power. According to an estimate, there are around 5,000-6,000 widows living in Vrindavan, Govardhan, and Radha Kund areas of the Mathura Lok Sabha constituency, which goes to polls on April 18.
The total electorate in the constituency is around 17,99,321. Among the widows, less than 10 per cent have voter identity cards. The widows share a feeling of helplessness and abjectness about exercising their right to franchise.
Standing in a long queue for a meal in scorching heat, 90-year old Sudha Dasi does not remember when was the last time she voted in an election. Dasi, who hails from West Bengal, is not interested in voting in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections as well. She spent a major part of her widowed life in the narrow bylanes of the city.
However, she is not alone. Hundreds of abandoned widows, who are living in Vrindavan, share her plight.
Most of the widows are either found begging, standing outside a temple waiting for ‘bhandara’ (free food), or singing bhajans for hours for a meagre amount of Rs 20. The widows, who are mainly from West Bengal, Odisha and Jharkhand, have been disowned by their families and left alone in the world to struggle for survival.
Since the widows do not comprise a large group, they are not a vote bank for any political party. In the last Lok Sabha elections, most of the widows did not have voting rights, but this time around many of those living in state government-run ashrams have got voter identity cards.
However, it remains to be seen whether they will cast their vote or not. A total 513 widows are living in six ashrams in Chaitnaya Vihar phase 1 and 2, Sitaram Sadan, Ras Bihari, Leela Kunj and Krishna Kutir here, according to women and child welfare department of the UP government. For the first time, 305 of them have got their voter ID cards.
However, it is just 10 per cent of total number of widows living in pathetic conditions in this holy town. Some live in privately-run NGOs or in rented accommodation and do not have voting rights. NGO officials say that it is difficult for them to go through the formalities with limited resources at their disposal.
But for most, it is all about an endless struggle for bread and butter issues irrespective of which government comes to power. (PTI)
