Poll Toll: Dealing With Death & Trauma Amid Elections

One of my biggest learnings from covering this year's elections in Uttar Pradesh was how to report on trauma. Family after family we met with were in mourning or seeking justice for their dead kin, be it victims of sexual violence, bull attacks or farmer deaths. It became important to distinguish between elections and the lives of ordinary people dealing with death and trauma. While covering elections is all about covering politics and politicians, one must not forget the lives and sorrows of voters who are at the heart of the electoral process and look at them as human beings first instead of vote banks or subjects.