From Dubai to Mumbai, migrants flock to Bihar to vote

Thousands of migrants are flocking to Bihar from far and wide to vote in the assembly elections, an enthusiasm not seen earlier.

Rehan Khan from Dubai is one of them.

"I was to return to Dubai in early October but I extended my leave to vote next Friday (October 16)," Khan, originally from Gaya town, about 100 km from here, told IANS.

"I will return to Dubai only after fulfilling my duty as citizen of the country," said Khan, a business development manager in Dubai.

Mohammed Atiqur Rahman from Saudi Arabia voted on Monday in the first phase of the five-phase elections that ends on November 5.

A resident of Samastipur district, Rahman said he was determined to vote.

Rahman, who has been working in Riyadh for 15 years as a salesman in a furniture company, said: "I felt it was my duty and right to vote."

NRIs of Bihari-origin in the US are also keeping a close watch on the staggered elections.

"I am keenly watching the campaigning through Internet and TV. There are hundreds like me here," said Ravi Verma, who heads a software consultant firm in California.

Bihari workers from Gujarat, Delhi, Punjab, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Mumbai, Hyderabad and other cities and states too have been visiting their villages and towns to vote.