Shankar Ganguly plies passengers throughout Kolkata on his app-bike, clocking around 25 rides on a regular day and no fewer than 20 even on public holidays. This week, he is bracing for a near-zero.
"Elections seem to be happening in a semi lockdown mood. We are assuming a no-show on poll day as well as the other two days before elections,” he said.
It started with a circular.
On April 20, the Chief Electoral Officer of Bengal, Manoj Agarwal, released a directive imposing restrictions on two-wheelers — a blanket night-time ban from 6 pm to 6 am, and a prohibition on pillion riders during the day. For app-based bike riders and delivery partners, it meant three days of no income.
Then, almost as quickly, a revised directive clarified that the ban was meant only for bike rallies, to prevent voter intimidation and mobilisation. But by then, the panic had already spread.
Ganguly, who rides for Uber, was told to continue business as usual, but with a catch. "We need to fetch a police permission to work smoothly in the coming week. If we do not get that on time, it will cause unnecessary harassment by the police," he said.
He is not alone. A Rapido rider from Siliguri, which votes in the first phase on April 23, had not received a single ride request since the morning of April 22. "I usually get around 8 to 10 ride requests through the Rapido app since it is holiday season and many are travelling to the hills," he said.
"However, after the first circular spoke about a complete prohibition of pillion riders even during the day time, there seems to be a confusion and I have had no ride requests since this morning,” the gig worker added.
Rapido Bike Taxi's Siliguri office received exemption details late Tuesday night, but the window was too narrow to act. "Seeking police permission to function rides as usual during polls in such short notice is nearly impossible," a representative said, adding that low ride requests were expected through April 22.
For Ayush Mondal, a North 24 Parganas resident who commutes daily to Kolkata to ferry passengers and parcels through Uber, Ola, Rapido, Yatri Saathi and Indrive, no communication had arrived from any of the apps. "We are depending on the EC directives as of now and queuing up for police permissions. On the day of voting, we might only get passengers who will avail us to go and vote, but otherwise, there will be no business as usual."
Since many drivers are enrolled across multiple apps simultaneously, the confusion compounds.
Swapan Koyal from Sonarpur, southern fringes of Kolkata, is registered on five apps and earns around Rs 1,200 a day. He had not yet received word from any of them about the revised directive. "Unless we are told by the apps that the revised directive has come, how can we go ahead and seek police permission? I don't even know if the new circular is a fake one," he said.
The Flip Flop
The first phase of West Bengal Assembly polls is scheduled to be held on April 23 covering 152 constituencies across 16 districts, with curbs in place from April 21.
The directive by the Office of the Chief Electoral Officer initially imposed restrictions on two wheelers starting two days before polling in the state except for emergency services and family functions. This implied disruption in food deliveries through apps, and rides through app-based bikes.
Soon after, a revised directive clarified that the ban was meant for bike rallies in the state to avoid intimidation and mobilisation of voters.
However, the panic had already spread among gig-workers in the state who were looking at three days of no income.
While a ban on bike rallies during elections is not unheard of — the EC had previously imposed vehicular restrictions in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh — its state-wide application here, and the initial silence on app-based services, is what left workers blindsided.
The revised directive introduced what it called "partial modifications," explicitly exempting service providers including Ola, Uber, Zomato, Swiggy and other home delivery apps.
The directive made it to Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee's speech as well. At a rally on Tuesday, Banerjee said how the circular was not a diktat but a piece of 'mischief'. "How will you go home if bikes are not plying..." she told the crowd.
Alongside the bike restrictions, the EC on April 20 issued a ban on liquor sales in districts going to polls on April 23, effective 96 hours before the first phase — though CEO Agarwal clarified that the liquor ban was ordered by the excise commissioner, not the EC.
The popular tourist destination of Digha was also barred from receiving visitors until April 23 evening, as the area falls in the first phase.
The EC has also come up with a bizarre ban for housing complexes that will host polling booths in Kolkata - it has barred 'outsiders' from staying on the premises during the mandatory silence period. The bar will be invoked from 6 pm on April 27, till the end of polling. This restriction has left residents further confused - as many voters are temporary residents, non-voters in that particular constituency or registered in other constituencies.
In another first, the Centre has deployed as many as 2407 companies of central forces and an all-heads meeting of all Central Armed Police Forces also took place in Kolkata on April 19 - unheard of in the previous polls in the state.
For the gig workers caught in the middle of the flip-flop, the clarifications have come — but the income lost in the confusion has not.
