Think carefully before voting: Imams in West Bengal send 10,000 letters to Muslim voters

Kolkata: In a bid to create voting awareness, Muslim leaders and imams across West Bengal have written at least 10,000 letters to the members of their community to ensure that they exercise their franchise and vote for a secular party, reports DNA.

The letters, written in either Urdu or Bengali, have been sent by All India Milli Council and signed by Qari Fazlur Rahman. He is the imam who leads Eid namaz at Kolkata's Red Road. 

"There is no alternative for election in a democracy. We get an opportunity to elect our government every five years. For every mistake, you will have to wait for five years to rectify. So it is imperative that you think carefully before you cast your vote," the letter reads, reports DNA.

"We've appealed to Muslims to use the opportunity carefully so that no communal force in the country can raise its head and a secular force is voted to power," Rahman told DNA.

West Bengal votes in all the seven phases of the Lok Sabha election for its 42 constituencies. The next round of voting is on April 29 while Kolkata goes to polls in the last phase on May 19.

In their message to the Muslims, the letter also mentions that the community should vote carefully for one party and their votes should not get split as it will only "help fascist forces."

Rahman also said that among the secular parties, the people should the one who is the strongest and has better chances of winning. "In Bengal, it is the ruling party which has the maximum possibility," he added.

West Bengal is currently ruled by the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress government.