Auto drivers take centre stage in poll campaigns

In the teeming streets of Delhi, where the rhythmic bustle of autorickshaws serves as the city's relentless heartbeat, a quieter battle is unfolding - a political tug-of-war for the soul of a constituency as mobile as it is vital.

- Snehil Sinha

NEW DELHI: Autorickshaw drivers - who ferry a few hundred thousand people every day - have become a centrepiece in the feverish run-up to the Delhi Assembly elections. For the political elite, these drivers represent more than a voting bloc - they are the vessels of last-mile connectivity, both in transportation and outreach.

Ramsharan Rajput, an autorickshaw driver since 1989, has witnessed the ebb and flow of political tides. From Nehru Place to Saket, he ferries passengers and tales of governments led by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Congress, and now the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).

"Every election, netas (political leaders) treat us like royalty - promising the moon, sharing meals with us - but once the votes are counted, we're left to fend for ourselves," Rajput says with a wry smile. For him, the allure of fleeting political attention is as much a spectacle as it is a moment of respite. "We know we're being used, but even a few sponsored meals feel like something. It's a rare acknowledgment."

Despite being a small constituency - Delhi's 98,000 autorickshaw drivers constitute less than 1% of the city's 15.5 million registered voters - they hold outsized political importance.

Their vehicles, adorned with party posters, double as mobile campaign platforms, zipping through the city and amplifying election narratives. Unlike caste-based or religious groups concentrated in pockets, autorickshaw drivers traverse diverse neighbourhoods, becoming de facto influencers in mid-journey conversations about politics.

Political experts say that autorickshaw drivers, although small in number, are a well-organised group as a union and are, therefore, an effective communication and advertising tool.