Patna,(BiharTimes): Panchayat election in Bihar as well as marriage season have greatly affected the labour market in the post-wheat harvesting weeks in Punjab and Haryana. Other states too are facing similar problems as Bihar exports manpower to almost the entire country.

Though the market is flooded with wheat farmers of north Indian states, who rely heavily on labours from Bihar and east Uttar Pradesh, are feeling the brunt of acute manpower shortage.

As panchayat election has started on April 24 and would last till the fourth week of May a large number of labourers have returned to their native villages. Incidentally, this is the peak time of marriages too.

“We have been waiting to keep our produce in the market since morning. We have around 1,150 quintals wheat,” Surinder Singh, a farmer in Jalandhar grain market, was quoted in the media as saying.
Similar is the story elsewhere too.

Farmers complain that the labourers available in the market are demanding much higher wages.

Of late panchyat elections have become a big attraction for those working outside Bihar and they are returning to their native places. This does not only include farm labourers working in northeen states or industrial workers engaged in Gujarat, Maharasthra and elsewhere but the executives, businessmen, academics etc too.

A senior executive of a reputed mobile firm posted in Kolkata has made a plan to return to Patna where his family still lives. From here he would take them to his naitve village in Aurangabad district to cast votes for a particular candidate.

Interestingly, not so much keenness was shown during the 2014 Lok Sabha and 2015 Assembly election by this white collared class. This was so notwithstanding the fact that the Assembly election somewhat coincided with Durga Puja holiday. Besides, paddy harvesting ended by late October.

But panchayat polls have some different meaning. The grassroots level of empowerment as well as big fund are attracting many urban dwellers to their roots.

Another person engaged in I-T business in Patna told BiharTimes that his second cousins––a brother and a sister––living in a Begusarai village approached him over phone urging him to convince the other to withdraw from the contest. The problem is that both have thrown their hats in the ring notwithstanding the fact that the seat is not reserved for women.

“It was really a difficult job for me as both are relunctant to withdraw. I know in such a situation both are going to lose,” he said.