E-Paper
Bengal’s top Muslim clerics want paper ballots in polls, question EVMs
The demand from the clerics attains significance since Bengal’s Muslim population stood at 27.01% during the 2011 census and is projected to have increased to 30% now. According to surveys done, a swing in Muslim votes can influence poll results in as many as 120 assembly seats.
The West Bengal Imams’ Association and clerics from the famous Furfura Sharif shrine in Bengal’s Hooghly district want paper ballots to be offered as an option to voters in addition to electronic voting machines (EVM) in the assembly polls due in April-May.
“I appeal to chief minister Mamata Banerjee and members of the state assembly to use provisions laid down in Article 328 of the Constitution and pass a law that will offer voters the option to use ballot paper if they do not wish to use EVMs. Article 328 empowers state legislative assemblies to frame laws in regard to assembly polls,” Md Yahiya, chairman of the state imams’ association told HT on Thursday.
“The budget session of the state assembly will commence on Friday. We are writing to the chief minister and the assembly speaker, urging them to place a bill that will give voters an option. The Maharashtra government is working on this. India’s voters and opposition parties lodged complaints against use of EVMs several times in the past. Many countries have discarded the machines. In a country as big as ours, polls cannot be held solely with machines,” said Yahiya.
Of about 40,000 mosques in Bengal, clerics from at least 26,000 are members of the association.
Article 328 says: Subject to the provisions of this Constitution and in so far as provision in that behalf is not made by Parliament, the Legislature of a State may from time to time by law make provision with respect to all matters relating to, or in connection with, the elections to the House or either House of the Legislature of the State including the preparation of electoral rolls and all other matters necessary for securing the due constitution of such House or Houses.
The Furfura Sharif shrine is one of the most popular places of pilgrimage in Bengal. It is built around the mausoleum of Pir Abu Bakr Siddiqui. It also has a mosque built in 1375 and draws millions during the Urs festival and the annual fair dedicated to the Pir. Urban development minister Firhad Hakim visited Furfura Sharif on Tuesday when the mazaar authorities distributed clothes and blankets among 10,000 people. Hakim also delivered a speech.
“We support the imams. If people in Europe and America can use ballot paper why do we need machines? People should be given the option of voting in the traditional way since questions have been raised about EVMs,” said Pirzada Jiauddin Siddiqui, a scion of the Pir’s family and son of Allamah Kutubuddin Siddiqui, the most senior among the clerics at Furfura Sharif.
The demand from the clerics attains significance since Bengal’s Muslim population stood at 27.01% during the 2011 census and is projected to have increased to around 30% now. According to surveys done by the TMC and the BJP, a swing in Muslim votes can influence poll results in as many as 120 assembly seats.
Among the districts where the Muslim population is substantially high are Murshidabad (66.28%), Malda (51.27%), North Dinajpur (49.92%), South 24 Parganas (35.57%), and Birbhum (37.06%). There are a large number of Muslim voters in East and West Burdwan districts, North 24 Parganas and Nadia as well.
Senior TMC leaders did not want to comment on record on the development. “This is a serious issue. The assembly polls are conducted by the Election Commission of India. The legal provisions need to be studied,” a cabinet minister said on condition of anonymity.
Former advocate general of Tripura and now a Rajya Sabha member, eminent lawyer Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharya welcomed the demand.
“I do not see any reason to oppose it. We always welcome technology but freedom of the people is more important. The Maharashtra government is working on the process of reintroducing ballots. Why shouldn’t the Central government come forward and say that it will return to the ballot paper system? I also argued before the Calcutta high court in a recent case that candidates should be allowed to file nomination papers and fees online. This will reduce pre-poll violence to a large extent,” said Bhattacharya.
Siddiqullah Chowdhury, a minister in the TMC government and president of the Jamiat Ulema -e–Hind’s Bengal unit, however, said there are too many legal knots.
“The demand raised by the imams’ association is not something that can be met easily. I do not think anything will come out of it,” said Chowdhury.
Union home minister Amit Shah has announced that his party will oust the Mamata Banerjee government by winning over 200 of the state’s 294 seats while Banerjee’s election strategist Prashant Kishor recently tweeted that he will give up his job if the BJP’s tally crosses 99.
The Bengal BJP said the demand is part of an effort to steal the limelight and makes no sense.
“We have full faith in the present system. The arguments put forth against EVMs are irrelevant since none of the parties that raised issues could prove anything. Those raising this demand again are only trying to hog the limelight,” said Samik Bhattacharya, chief spokesperson of the Bengal BJP.
