Explained: Why Mirzapur reports a low turnout every Lok Sabha election

In Mirzapur, one of India's poorer districts, priority is livelihood

Rekha Devi works under a blazing summer sun, carrying bushels of arhar, or pigeon pea, 2 km from the field to the farmer’s yard. “Every day that I’m able to find work, I can feed my three children,” says the 35-year-old landless farm labourer. The woman, a widow, is illiterate and has never voted. “If I’m lucky enough to find work on the polling day,” she says, “I won’t cast my vote this time, too.” 

She is not alone. Beset by grinding poverty, unemployment and lack of opportunities, a significant percentage of the population in Mirzapur, one of India’s most