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This year, more Bihar migrant workers are determined to return home and cast their votes.

Kerala is a workplace for an estimated three to five lakh migrant workers from Bihar.

Parties like the RJD and BJP quietly campaigned in Kerala among the workers.

For weeks, Bipen Kumar hesitated to return to Bihar to vote. He had been there just four months ago, and the long trip home meant losing a few days’ wages. On Sunday, he finally boarded a train north.

“I’m not actively interested in politics,” he said before leaving. “Back home, we used to vote for Nitish Kumar . But this time, I might vote for a change.”

Bipen works at a salon in Kakkanad, Kochi—a part of Kerala’s large migrant workforce that includes many from Bihar. These workers are vital to Kerala’s econo

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