Muslim women’s organisation calls for full turnout, 'no ballot should go uncast'
Telegraph | 13 April 2026
A Muslim women’s organisation on Saturday urged members of the community whose names are on the electoral rolls to vote without fail to offset the imbalance created by large-scale deletions of Muslim voters.
Traditionally, Muslim women’s turnout is lower than that of men within families, but that should not be the case in the upcoming Assembly election, said Uzma Alam, general secretary of Khwateen Bedari Tahreek. “No vote should go uncast,” another member said at the meeting at Press Club Kolkata.
Uzma also urged voters to cast their ballots intelligently so that votes are not split among parties. “The real fight is between the BJP and the Trinamool Congress. We should not vote for a party that peddles communalism,” she said, without naming any party.
“Your vote should not be divided. Ideally, all parties that are part of the Opposition at the Centre should have fought this election together, but that has not happened. Your vote should not be divided,” she emphasised.
Explaining their appeal, Uzma said the situation was such that Muslims “need to vote for someone who will not harm us”.
Khwateen Bedari Tahreek is a decade-old organisation working for women’s welfare and providing charity to the needy.
Saba Taj, a member of the Jamaat-e-Islami Hind women’s wing, said the goal was to ensure 100% polling among Muslims. “In any case, the actual number of voters has been reduced. There should be 100% polling among those still on the voter list. We are spreading the message among the community that no one should skip voting,” she said.
Another member of the group pointed to the opaque process. “The role that the Election Commission of India has played is dubious. They have removed names of people for minor spelling mismatches. This, despite voters standing in queues for hours to submit their documents,” the member said.
“The Supreme Court has said that those who have been removed from the rolls not being able to vote in one election does not mean they will not be able to vote in subsequent elections. Why would a genuine voter not vote even in one election? This is an equal right for every Indian,” Uzma said.
As many as 27.16 lakh of over 60 lakh voters under adjudication have been removed from the electoral rolls.
In seven districts with significant Muslim populations — Murshidabad, Malda, North Dinajpur, Birbhum, Nadia, North and South 24-Parganas — over 46 lakh names have been deleted from the rolls after adjudication.
Those deleted must appeal before tribunals to restore their voter status, though the timeline for decisions on these appeals remains unclear.