Wed Feb 05 15:35:35 IST 2025: **Delhi’s Homeless Cast Ballots Amidst Poverty and Broken Promises**
NEW DELHI (February 5, 2025) – Despite facing hardship and disillusionment, Delhi’s homeless population participated in the Delhi Assembly elections on Wednesday. Residents of night shelters and roadside dwellings braved the cold to exercise their right to vote, though many expressed cynicism about the impact of their ballots.
Kheru Nisha, a 30-year-old mother of five living in a Lodhi Colony night shelter, cited rising living costs as her motivation to vote. Forced from her rented apartment due to unaffordable rent, she criticized government schemes for failing to reach the most vulnerable, pointing to promises of free electricity and water that were not honored by her landlord. Nisha works as a garbage collector.
Similar sentiments were echoed by Sonia, a 30-year-old maid and mother of four, who also resides in a night shelter. While she voted, Sonia expressed doubt that her vote would bring meaningful change, citing broken promises of free education and school supplies for poor children. She revealed that even school admission requires bribes, making education inaccessible to her children. The only government scheme she found beneficial was the free bus ride for women.
At the night shelter near the Delhi Golf Club, approximately 20-25 of the 120 residents, ranging in age from six months to 75 years, voted. Even Julekha, a 65-year-old deaf and mute woman, participated, displaying her inked finger and voter ID card. She, too, had sought refuge in the shelter during the winter. The looming closure of the shelter in summer leaves many wondering where they will go next. These stories highlight the stark realities faced by Delhi’s poorest citizens, even as they engage in the democratic process.
First Piper 