Indian Gulf workers: The unlikely voters parties are wooing for elections

As the southern Indian state votes on April 26, thousands are flying back from the Gulf to cast their ballot. Could they shape the election?

Thiruvananthapuram, India – The hum of conversation was replaced by a crescendo of high-pitched political slogans in the packed auditorium, as Shafi Parambil took to the stage.

The 41-year-old politician from the Indian National Congress launched into a blistering attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Kerala state Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. “Every vote counts and I need your wholehearted support,” he said as he concluded his speech.

It could have been a typical campaign event – ahead of April 26, when the southern Indian state of Kerala votes in the second of the country’s seven-phase national election – except it was not. Parambil was addressing supporters in Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates, 2,800km (1,739 miles) away from Vadakara, the parliamentary seat in Kerala he is contesting.

And he is not alone.

The Gulf region, which hosts more than 2 million immigrants from Kerala, is witnessing intense physical and virtual election campaigns, with contestants like Parambil vying for their votes and community groups launching initiatives to help expatriates fly back to India to cast their ballots.

The Kerala Muslim Cultural Centre (KMCC) is the biggest Indian diaspora organisation in the Gulf, with more than 700,000 members. The group plans to fly back at least 10,000 of its members to Kerala by Friday.

“We have requested our members who had gone home for [the] Eid al-Fitr holidays to stay back ’til the election is over. Our campaign urging eligible voters to go home and participate in the election has evinced [a] huge response from our members. Now, we have bulk-booked