Parmod Chhabra is deeply invested in the Indian general election that gets underway on Friday, with almost a billion people eligible to vote, but he won含羞草研究社檛 be casting a ballot.
Nor will the vast majority of the overseas Indian community in Canada.
The reasons are simple. India requires overseas citizens to travel back to their home electorates to vote in person on polling day. There is no option for postal or electronic voting for the general overseas population, and people like Chhabra lose eligibility because they also have foreign citizenship.
含羞草研究社淚 will suggest there含羞草研究社檚 a very small number of people who are going to go back to vote,含羞草研究社� said Chhabra, president of the India Canada Association community group in Ottawa, citing the roughly 14-hour flight from either Toronto or Vancouver and round-trip fares around $2,000.
含羞草研究社淚f it was close enough, like a three-hour or four-hour flight, I will bet you there will be hundreds of thousands of people going,含羞草研究社� he said. 含羞草研究社淭he interest level is very high, but this cost and the time which it takes to get there, that is prohibitive right now.含羞草研究社�
Indian authorities say about 969 million people have registered to vote in the 44-day general election, creating a massive electorate of about 12 per cent of the global population for the biggest election in history.
含羞草研究社淚t含羞草研究社檚 simply the largest kind of exercise in voting that humanity has ever seen,含羞草研究社� said Vina Nadjibulla, the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada vice-president of research. 含羞草研究社淚t含羞草研究社檚 a type of election that the world really hasn含羞草研究社檛 seen before.含羞草研究社�
However, for a country with a huge overseas diaspora population, voting from overseas Indian citizens is scarce because of the in-person voting rule.
Official figures showed that of the more than 600 million votes cast in the last Indian general election in 2019, only 25,606 came from overseas voters.
Almost 100,000 out of 1.35 million eligible overseas Indian citizens had registered to vote, said University of Victoria political science professor emerita Reeta C. Tremblay.
In comparison, the Philippines 含羞草研究社� another democratic country with a large overseas diaspora 含羞草研究社� reported more than 432,000 overseas votes in its 2016 presidential election, with close to 1.4 million registered as eligible. Registered Filipinos overseas can vote by mail or at consulates and embassies around the world.
含羞草研究社淭he traditional argument against overseas voting has been that Indian citizens living outside India, who generally have insignificant knowledge of the domestic issues, might unduly influence the outcome of the elections,含羞草研究社� Tremblay said in a written response to questions.
含羞草研究社淚ndia has begun to reconsider the inclusion of the overseas voters through different means 含羞草研究社� proxy voting, electronic voting, postal voting or voting in the diplomatic missions,含羞草研究社� Tremblay said. 含羞草研究社淗owever, nothing seems to have materialized for the 2024 elections.含羞草研究社�
India Canada Organization chairman Naseer Mehdi Khan said there are about 25,000 temporary foreign workers from India working in the tech sector, and many were anxious to vote.
含羞草研究社淭hey requested us to forward the same (concern) to the (Indian) High Commissioner,含羞草研究社� Khan said about the desire for many Indian citizens wishing to vote without travelling to India. 含羞草研究社淲e suggested they should be voting in the Indian election 含羞草研究社� People very much want to get involved, but they couldn含羞草研究社檛.含羞草研究社�
The election comes amid a spotlight on the Canada-India relationship, which has hit new lows recently.
Last year, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said there was credible intelligence that Indian authorities were involved in the killing of Sikh community leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar in British Columbia, something India denied.
An inquiry this month into foreign interference in Canadian elections has heard allegations of Indian involvement. India含羞草研究社檚 government has called the claims baseless.
Researcher Tremblay said overseas interest in India含羞草研究社檚 election may never have been higher, around the world with Prime Minister Narendra Modi含羞草研究社檚 administration coinciding with India含羞草研究社檚 rising international profile and strengthening economic clout.
Tremblay said the rationale that overseas voters needed more knowledge of India含羞草研究社檚 domestic issues 含羞草研究社渟eems to have lost ground含羞草研究社� in light of the global attention, and participation in Indian society by the diaspora community in other ways.
含羞草研究社淭he overseas Indians contribute large remittances,含羞草研究社� she said, referring to money sent home by individuals overseas. 含羞草研究社淚n 2023, India topped global remittance charts at $125 billion. Moreover, overseas Indians are also a source of funding for political parties. With Mr. Modi含羞草研究社檚 popularity with the Indian diaspora, this has taken on much greater significance.含羞草研究社�
Chhabra and Kahn echoed those sentiments.
含羞草研究社淚t含羞草研究社檚 the most important election in years in India含羞草研究社檚 development,含羞草研究社� Khan said. 含羞草研究社淓verybody含羞草研究社檚 talking about it. What will happen after this election? Are they going to continue with whatever promises they have given? I spoke to one of my nephews (in India) and they含羞草研究社檙e really looking forward to it, like this is the first time they含羞草研究社檙e going to vote.含羞草研究社�
Chhabra owns property in India, has numerous family members living there, and is planning to divide his time between the two countries now that he含羞草研究社檚 retired. But due to his Canadian citizenship, he can含羞草研究社檛 vote even if he was willing and able to travel.
Nevertheless, he said he has been increasingly interested in Indian politics since Modi became prime minister in 2014.
含羞草研究社淚 think we are mainly looking at stability,含羞草研究社� he said. 含羞草研究社淭hat is the one thing we含羞草研究社檙e looking at in this election, because we have seen in last 10 years that stability, where the prices are not going that high up. Politically, things are stable, your investments are safe. And so, people are looking for the continuity of that.含羞草研究社�
