No place to call home, but fight for franchise on for 1k Paikan evictees

Guwahati: Nearly 1,000 evicted voters will return to the Paikan Reserve Forest in Assam’s Goalpara district on April 9 — not to reclaim the land they once lived on, but to cast their ballots.

For decades, these families had occupied nearly 140 hectares (around 1,000 bighas) of forest land before being evicted seven months ago. Despite their displacement, their names remain on the electoral roll of Paikan, which falls under the Goalpara East constituency.

Their designated polling station, Bidyapara ME School, ceased to exist after the eviction and has since been converted into a forest department office.

However, election officer Pallabi Borah said the forest department will vacate the premises temporarily to allow voting.

“Most of the families have been taking shelter either at their relative’s place or in rented lodgings along the fringes of the reserve forest since their eviction in July last year. They are still enrolled in the electoral roll under Bidyapara ME School polling station, which has 1,497 voters in two wings,” Borah added.

The return of displaced voters to their old settlement on polling day is expected to be a poignant moment. For many, casting their ballot at Bidyapara is not just a democratic exercise but a symbolic act of belonging — a reminder of the land they once called home.

Nur Jaman Ahmed, the booth level officer (BLO) of the Bidyapara ME School (Right Wing) polling station, told TOI that there are 809 voters under his jurisdiction, including 365 voters who were evicted from the forest land in Paikan.

“The district administration has kept the polling booth at the school, which ceased to exist after the eviction, as there was very little time for the election. They might change it for future polls,” he added.

Similarly, Iman Ali Mirza, the BLO of the polling booth’s left wing, said there are 688 voters in the electoral roll udner his jurisdiction, including 620 evicted voters.

Mirza added that the voters have not shifted their names from the electoral roll even though they were displaced by the eviction last year. “They will cast their vote at the polling booth at the school, which is a govt institution,” he added.

In July 2025, the forest department and Goalpara district administration conducted the eviction drive in Paikan Reserve Forest. A total of about 1,080 families — mostly Bangladesh-origin migrant Muslims from nearby districts — were evicted.

Johrul Sheikh, who was evicted from Bidyapara village, said his family does not have land in other part of the state and thus, his family is still taking shelter at a relative’s house in an area near the eviction site.

“The situation is similar for other evicted people. They are also living like us. We will vote at the Bidyapara ME School. We have been casting votes at this booth since we moved here about four decades back,” he added.

The Goalpara East constituency will witness the battle of ballots primarily among BJP’s key ally Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) candidate Abdul Rahim Zibran, Congress candidate Abul Kalam Rasheed Alam and All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) candidate Hafiz Bashir Ahmed.