Mubarakpur (Azamgarh): 45-year-old Sehtam Yadav spends most of his time watching videos of political analysts on YouTube.
A resident of Mubarakpur, a municipal town in Azamgarh district, he is yet to decide whom he will vote for and doesn’t even talk to his friends about it. A jovial person at heart, his friends say that the last two years have changed him. Upon some investigation, it emerges that the pandemic took away the life that Yadav had hoped to create. An electrician, he has worked in countries such as the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Kazakhstan and Russia from 2003-2020. His resume mentions companies like Samsung, Hyundai and Volvo. However, when Kovid struck, they were removed and sent back to India. Now unemployed, his only source of income is to drive a tractor for a few days. “In my previous job in Russia, I used to earn $750 per month. Since two years, I am looking for a good paying job. Now, agents ask for 1-2 lakh rupees as commission for opportunity abroad. In No job in the nearby cities pays enough,” he said. There is a similar story of Bilas, who runs a bati-chokha hut. “I was a laborer in Dubai when Covid hit. I had to come back here in unemployment. It’s hard to go back now,” he said.
Majnu Chauhan along with his newly wed wife Shanti and mother are back home from Mumbai to vote at a nearby restaurant. “I had left for Mumbai four years ago from Mubarakpur to get a job. But I enjoy being here. If I am assured of employment, I will come back immediately,” he said.
While unemployment was always a major issue in elections, Covid has made it huge. Unfortunately most of the youth feel that no government can deal with it completely. Sundar said, “The problem is so widespread that no leader or government can assure us of a secure future. There is no other way than farming and setting up small shops. But these alternatives require some investment. it occurs.” Patwa. Their 21-year-old son Rohit is not motivated to finish college and shows no aspiration or ambition. “I learned wiring. I’m satisfied. Why should I study more or move out?” He says with a mix of content and despair.
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