VOTER PULSE, ONE STATION AT A TIME

On the tracks of political schism: Southern comfort for Opposition

- NITIN KUMAR

NITIN KUMAR rides the rails of political discord from North to South aboard the Dibrugarh-Kanniyakumari Express

"Is desh ki halat iss train ke jaisi "I hi hai lachar (The state of this country is akin to this train helpless)," says Karthik Selvam during a heated discussion on how the country is faring under the Narendra Modi-led Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government.

"They promise a developed India by 2047, but a ride on the country's longest train journey shows how hollow their promises are," adds the 35-year-old who works in a fertiliser plant, aboard the Dibrugarh-Kanniyakumari Vivek Express, which covers India's longest train route spanning 4,189 kilometres (km) in 74 hours, with 57 stops across eight states.

"The toilets are non-functional, hawkers and food sellers enter every two minutes, even in Second AC, and the train is never on time. People say that a journey on this train is the experience of a lifetime. They are right, as one cannot imagine travelling on it twice," Selvam scoffs in disgust.

But many of his fellow passengers beg to differ.

While they acknowledge that much remains to be done, they assert that only Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi can accomplish it.

"Who else can do it?" asks Hiren Borborua, another passenger from Assam.

"Stalin Anna (MK Stalin, chief minister of Tamil Nadu)," chips in Selvam. "A PM from South India could show what development looks like.

People in the South don't vote for the BJP because they know the difference between jumla (false promises) and real work," he nods sagely.

However, Tapan Deka, a 40year-old tea industry worker, has only praises for Modi's policies.