In MP’s Alirajpur, state’s second poorest dist, getting migrants to vote among top concerns

“I want to become an orthopaedic and serve my people. This area desperately needs at least basic health infrastructure and services,” says Anil, who studies at Jawahar Navodaya School for talented students in Alirajpur.

Located around 200 km from the state’s economic capital Indore, Alirajpur is ranked by the NITI Aayog as MP’s second poorest and most deprived district in the Multidimensional Poverty Index. (Express photo/Parveen K Dogra)

Carved out of the tribal district of Jhabua in 2008, Alirajpur serves as the last signpost of Madhya Pradesh in the south-west. Bordering Gujarat, it is famous for its Noor Jahan mangoes, Rajwada fort, the remains of a British-era ‘Victoria Bridge’ and for being the birthplace of freedom fighter and martyr Chandrashekhar Azad.

Alirajpur, with almost 90% of its population tribal, mainly Bhil, also enjoys another distinction. Located around 200 km from the state’s economic capital Indore, it is ranked by the NITI Aayog as MP’s second poorest and most deprived district in the Multidimensional Poverty Index. Its literacy rate is 37%, against the state’s average of 70.06%.

As Prime Minister Narendra Modi announces the country’s biggest tribal mission, for most in Alirajpur, accessing schemes remains a challenge.

Migration to Gujarat

Shankar Tadwal, a social worker with the Khedut Mazdoor Chetna Sangath (KMCS), a trade union of Alirajpur’s Bhil tribals set up in 1984, says the district is now full of the aged and the very young.

“All adults are in Gujarat toiling to earn a livelihood. Go and see the buses departing from the Alirajpur bus stand to South Gujarat (over 210 km away). Over 200 people crowd into a 56-seater bus,” Tadwal says.

There are at least 50 points along the border between Jhabua and Alirajpur and Gujarat from where buses and other vehicles leave every hour for different towns of Gujarat.

Alirajpur District Collector Abhay Arvind Bedekar (Express photo/Parveen K Dogra)

“The issue of child labour is even more serious. One can see children travelling to Gujarat in school dress! Our government is just a mute spectator,” adds Tadwal, who has filed a petition in the Supreme Court alleging exploitation of workers from MP in Gujarat.

Close to polling date on November 17, Alirajpur’s huge migrant population is leading to apprehensions of low voting; in 2018, the district saw a turnout of only 52%, across its two Assembly seats of Alirajpur and Jobat. Alirajpur District Collector Abhay Arvind Bedekar says: “The administration is making calls to migrant labourers and inviting them to cast votes… We are also sending teams to Gujarat to convince the labourers as well as their employers.”

There are 2.22 lakh registered voters in the Alirajpur constituency, and about 2.6 lakh in Jobat.

A study conducted by the KMCS and authored by Rahul Banerjee, an activist for tribal rights based in Indore, found that family members from over 3 lakh households migrate every year from Alirajpur for about four to six months, bringing in around Rs 40 crore a year in earnings.

Agriculture a bane

One big reason for the mass migration are the falling returns from agriculture, with the average family landholding in Alirajpur about 0.25 hectare.

Carved out of the tribal district of Jhabua in 2008, Alirajpur serves as the last signpost of Madhya Pradesh in the south-west.

Pointing out that “an overwhelming 95.7% of the population are cultivators or agricultural labourers”, Banerjee says: “The land is mostly of low quality, while forests have been decimated drastically, reducing the supplementary incomes from minor forest produce and animal husbandry. Development schemes are not implemented properly and are mostly riddled with corruption.”

The state of government schools is one proof, with many running at less than half their strength. “We call up parents and request them to send their children to schools… That is the biggest challenge we face, getting children out of fields and into schools,” says Devendra Kumar Bairagi, a middle school teacher in the Biljhar area.

The state of government schools is one proof, with many running at less than half their strength. (Express photo/Parveen K Dogra)

Even when it comes to teachers, most are Atithi Shikshak or guest teachers. As per the Madhya Pradesh Guest Faculty Portal, 14,045 teachers are registered in the Alirajpur district, getting Rs 5,000 per month as remuneration. “Can a person survive on Rs 5,000? Will a teacher take interest in his students if these are the earnings?” says Talwad.

Tribals and schemes: A broken bridge

Talwad accuses the government of apathy and non-interest toward tribal conservation. “The tribals are losing their identity and dependence on their original produce,” he says, alleging that a push for seeds supplied by multinationals has impoverished the tribals.

About Central schemes, Tadwal points to other challenges, besides lack of awareness due to illiteracy and absence of means. “Five out of 10 farmers don’t have thumbprints that register due to the hard work they do in the fields, at construction sites or at domestic chores. They get left out of several schemes as they fail the biometric authentication of their thumb or fingers. Then, most are denied benefits due to errors in their names, surnames, addresses, and other basic information.”

Tadwal adds that the government needs to reach the doorstep of tribals and get the necessary formalities done. “No poor and uneducated citizen should be made to stand in long queues and face multiple rejections.”

Five out of 10 farmers don’t have thumbprints that register due to the hard work they do in the fields, at construction sites or at domestic chores. (Express photo/Parveen K Dogra)

Collector Bedekar admits the process is difficult but also “important”. “We are trying to reach out to the tribals and help them in every possible manner,” he says.

The politics

In 2018, the Congress had won both the Alirajpur and Jobat constituencies – with its candidates Mukesh Rawat and Kalawati Bhuriya winning, respectively.

After Kalawati died in 2021, the BJP’s Sulochana Rawat won the bypoll held in Jobat seat, defeating Mahesh Rawat of the Congress by 6,104 votes.

In Alirajpur, sitting Congress MLA Mukesh Rawat identifies “lack of agricultural support and unemployment as two key issues”. (Express photo/Parveen K Dogra)

This time, Sulochana’s son Vishal Rawat is the BJP candidate from Jobat, while the BJP has fielded Chouhan Nagar Singh again from Alirajpur against incumbent MLA Mukesh Rawat of the Congress.

Vishal says: “Our tribals don’t have sufficient land as compared to the other parts. They depend on their small pieces of land. No industry or employment opportunities are available. But the government is doing its best to change this through multiple schemes.”

In Alirajpur, sitting Congress MLA Mukesh Rawat identifies “lack of agricultural support and unemployment as two key issues”, and adds: “Alirajpur is struggling to get basic amenities like water, electricity, education, and health. The BJP government that has been in power for 18 years has neglected this area.”

Mukesh gives the specific example of Jal Shakti Mission, saying it is just on paper. “People still depend on tankers.”