Shafaqna English- More than nine million Muslims to lose voting rights in West Bengal – nearly 12% of the state’s 76 million voters. Many say the controversial revision of electoral rolls excludes Muslims disproportionately.
Nabijan Mondal, 73, has voted in every Indian election – national, state or local – for the past 50 years.
Suddenly, she finds her name missing from the list of voters published by the Election Commission of India (ECI) in her home state of West Bengal as it heads for a two-phase assembly election on April 23 and April 29, with votes to be counted on May 4.
Nabijan is among more than nine million people to lose voting rights in West Bengal – nearly 12 percent of the state’s 76 million voters, after the SIR process was concluded earlier this month.
West Bengal is home to nearly 25 million Muslims, accounting for roughly 27 percent of the state’s 106 million population, according to the last census conducted in 2011 – the community’s second-largest population among Indian states after Uttar Pradesh.
Sources: ALJazeera