In Mathura, Muslims say they were denied their vote. No complaints in Hindu areas
The parliamentary constituency in Uttar Pradesh recorded its lowest turnout in two decades.
In Mathura’s Gali Ahiran, ahead of the second phase of the Lok Sabha election on April 26, not one of the nine voters in the family of 74-year-old Jamrul Nisha received a voter slip. “This happened for the first time,” said her husband, Mohammad Sabir.
A voter slip is a document issued to registered voters before an election by the Election Commission of India. It is a confirmation of the voter’s registration and provides information on where and when to cast their vote.
The absence of the slip did not deter Jamrul Nisha, a voter in Mathura parliamentary constituency. On polling day, she went to the polling booth, found her name in the roll, got a voter slip – but still could not vote. “In the booth, they said that my name in their list was only mentioned as ‘Jamrul’, not ‘Jamrul Nisha’,” she said.
This is an odd inconsistency because the electoral roll on the Election Commission website mentions Jamrul Nisha’s full name. “I tried to reason with them,” she added, “but the police officers there taunted me, saying ‘Aren’t you too old to stand here and argue all day?’ So I left.”
At 49.4%, the Mathura parliamentary constituency recorded its lowest turnout in two decades — a significant...
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