KOLKATA: A last-minute scramble to secure their votes has sent air and train fares to Kolkata from other metros soaring as voters, spooked by fears of being removed from electoral rolls, rush home ahead of Wednesday's second phase of polling in West Bengal.
Skyrocketing Airfares
Between Sunday and Tuesday, one-way flight tickets from Delhi to Kolkata are selling for anywhere between Rs 13,000 and Rs 20,000, two to three times more than the usual range of Rs 6,000 to Rs 7,500. On the Mumbai-Kolkata route, fares have climbed even higher, hovering between Rs 14,000 and Rs 22,000. A comparable spike has been observed for flights from Bengaluru, Hyderabad, and Ahmedabad as well.
A week ago, airfares were manageable, but now they have gone through the roof, said Soumya Chatterjee, a software engineer based in Bengaluru and a resident of Golf Green. While he would ordinarily have forgone such an expensive option, Chatterjee is taking no chances this year. What if my name disappears from the rolls? I am not risking that, he said, expressing a fear that is palpable across the state.
Train Fares Also Spike
The surge in demand has spilled over to trains as well. With dynamic pricing in place, AC 3-tier fares from Delhi to Kolkata have climbed to Rs 1,700 to Rs 3,200, while Bengaluru-Kolkata tickets are in the Rs 2,500 to Rs 3,300 band. Passengers from Mumbai are shelling out anything between Rs 2,500 and Rs 4,000 for the same class. Even train routes traditionally considered more affordable, such as Hyderabad and Ahmedabad, are witnessing a sharp spike. However, on almost all routes, confirmed tickets are unavailable, and wait lists stretch to 200.
Flights are beyond my budget, and even trains are very expensive. But I paid Rs 2,500 for a one-way ticket to Kolkata because missing my vote is not an option, said Debika Das, who works as a house help in Gurgaon.
Record Turnout Expected
More than 3.35 crore voters exercised their franchise in Bengal's first phase on Thursday, nearly 24 lakh more than in 2021, taking the voter turnout to a record 93%. The second phase is also likely to see a heavy turnout. The factor that may have driven up Thursday's polling, the fear of falling off the roll, may be at work again.
Travel agents confirm a sharp spike in last-minute bookings, especially from metros with a large Bengali population. We are seeing an unusual surge for such a short window, something we haven't seen even during Durga Puja. Most people are not planning trips; they are making urgent, one-day return itineraries just to vote. Price sensitivity has clearly taken a backseat, said Anil Punjabi, chairman (east) of the Travel Agents Federation of India.
Voters Prioritize Voting Over Cost
Rusha Hazra, a PR professional in Delhi and a resident of Bhowanipore, said: My husband and I will fly in on April 29 morning and fly out the same evening after casting our votes. It is costing us a bomb, but we don't want to miss our votes this year.
Priyadarshini Bhan, who works in Noida, will also reach Kolkata on April 29 morning and head straight to the polling booth from the airport. She booked tickets for herself and her mother in early April but still had to pay Rs 12,000 apiece. I will return on May 3, when tickets cost only about Rs 6,000. This time, voting feels less like a routine affair and more like something you have to secure at any cost. You never know what might happen if you skip this one, she said.
