CHENNAI: With West Bengal set to hold its assembly elections in two phases on April 23 and April 29, thousands of migrant workers from the state who are currently living in Chennai’s suburbs and northern districts of Tamil Nadu have begun making their way back home in large numbers, triggering massive crowds at Tambaram railway station.
While Tamil Nadu will vote in a single phase on April 23, West Bengal’s polling is scheduled across two phases on April 23 and April 29. Elections are also underway in Puducherry, Kerala, and Assam, where voting on April 9 has already been completed.
A significant number of workers from West Bengal, who had migrated to Tamil Nadu in search of employment, are now residing in Chennai, its suburbs, and the northern districts. Keen to exercise their democratic right, they are boarding trains in large groups to return to their native state.
The rush has turned Tambaram railway station into a sea of humanity. Crowds of West Bengal natives — mostly construction labourers — have been gathering at the station from as early as afternoon, waiting for midnight and early morning trains bound for their home state.
To prevent inconvenience to passengers travelling on other trains, Railway Protection Force (RPF) personnel are holding the passengers at the station’s entrance gate and making them wait outside. They are allowed onto the platforms only about an hour before their scheduled departure.
As a result, even in the dead of night, the area in front of Tambaram railway station resembles a festival ground, packed with waiting passengers. In response to the surge, the RPF and railway police have stepped up security arrangements.