For them it is not just a vote, but a reply

KOCHI: VP Rajan and Thankamany, weavers from Karimpadam in Chendamangalam who lost their looms in August 2018 floods, quietly voted on Tuesday. They said their votes went to the party which came to their rescue during a crisis, when not many people were ready to help.
Their home is located just metres away from the polling booth in Ernakulam and one room behind their home is dedicated to their profession; weaving.Damaged materials lie in a corner, a sign of how the flood had battered their livelihood.
Rajan is nursing a wound on his right thumb due to near-constant weaving. "My hands were shivering, when I put signed at the polling station. I had to stop weaving for a while after my finger was injured," he said, adding that the family didn't receive a special relief package despite the attention Chendamangalam garnered after the floods.
"Many people came to meet us; media persons, officials and activists, but hardly anyone helped us. It was the handloom association in the area which helped us rebuild the looms. We don't know who got what funds, but they showed some amount of care. Now, when they ask a help in return during elections, we will obviously oblige and vote accordingly," said Rajan.
He said that he received Rs10,000 that was given by the state government as relief after floods and another Rs 60,000 that was given for home repairs. "I am not saying nobody helped. Three persons, two men and a woman, came to meet us one day and gave a check for Rs 15,000. That was their own money and it came from their own pockets. You realize that such instances are rare," he said.
Rajan also showed a set of newspapers, kept in the ceiling of his weaving room, that reported the damage to his weaving station. "We became popular after our pictures appeared in newspapers. Some even said we were raking in the money thanks to the coverage. But that's not true. These politicians haven't bothered to bring about an actual change. Now, we have given a reply through the ballot," he said.