India State Elections Face Lower Turnout As Kerala Nris Saddled By Hefty Airfares

2026-04-02 02:29:22

(MENAFN- Khaleej Times) [Editor's Note: Follow Khaleej Times live blog amid US-Israel-Iran war for the latest regional developments.]

With barely a week to go for Kerala state assembly elections, many political parties are worried as to whether the large number of NRIs (non-resident Indians) living in the Gulf, who in the past headed to the state during elections, will be able to make it this time because of the hefty airfares.

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There are about 220,000 overseas voters mostly in north Kerala, who can have an impact on the fate of many candidates in the region.

Rahoof Thangal, vice-president of the Kuwait Kerala Muslim Cultural Centre (KMCC), told the media that the organisation was considering arranging chartered flights to the state. However, considering the hefty costs, it might manage just two such flights to transport 500 NRIs from Kuwait to Kerala for voting.

“Kerala NRIs are mentally drained,” he told the media.“Unlike earlier elections, many are not showing the same interest in travelling back to vote.”

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Mansoor Palloor, the convenor of the Indian Overseas Congress in West Asia, told reporters that the majority of NRI voters would be unable to exercise their franchise this time.

According to him, the fare from Dammam, Saudi Arabia, to Kannur in Kerala is normally around Rs24,000 (about Dh950). But now with the Gulf war, fares have shot up by more than four times, which would discourage many of the Keralites who would have planned to return home for voting.

He said between 200,000 and 300,000 Kealites would head to the state from the Gulf in the past for voting. Since such large numbers of Keralites are unlikely to travel this year, many seats where contestants are facing a close battle with rivals may be disappointed.

Sayyid Munavvar Ali Shihab Thangal of the Indian Union Muslim League, Kerala, told the media that there is no clarity on how things will shape up by next week.“There is a lot of uncertainty now,” he said.

The presence of NRI voters is crucial in many constituencies in the Malabar region including Kannur, Kuttiady, Nadapuram, Azhikode and Kuthuparamba.

In Kuttiady, there are 16,000 expatriate voters, and the victory margin in the previous election was a mere 333 votes. Nadapuram has about 12,000 NRI voters, and the margin of victory last time was a little over 3,000.

Kunjahamed Koorachund, a Kerala Pravasi Sangam leader, also spoke of the challenges and the high costs of travelling to the state from the Gulf.

About three million residents of Kerala work abroad, mostly in the Gulf. Annual remittances from them account for almost a fifth of India's total inward remittances from overseas Indians.