New Delhi: A controversy has erupted over Lok Sabha election schedule with Kolkata Mayor Firhad Hakim saying that the seven-phase election will be highly inconvenient for Muslims in the states of Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal, as the election dates coincide with the month of Ramzan.
As the debate snowballed, the EC clarified that it has excluded the date of the main festival and Fridays from the schedule. It also said that though the Lok Sabha polls are being conducted during Ramzan, a full month cannot be excluded.
The seven-phase polls begin on April 11 and will conclude on May 19. The counting will take place on May 23. Ramzan, when Muslims fast during the day, is likely to start on May 6 this year. As the Islamic months are based on lunar calendar, the month of Ramzan keeps shifting vis-a-vis the Gregorian calendar.
BJP spokesman Syed Shahnawaz Hussain dismissed Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee’s objection. “Are the people voting for the first time during Ramzan,” he demanded, reacting to the party’s concern that the long drawn-out poll schedule will affect Muslim turnout during the fasting. Hussain said: “Our Hindu brothers fast on Monday. So, does that mean elections should not be held on Mondays?
Religious activities are an extremely personal matter. People keep fasts and go to work and they can also go and cast their votes.” In Hyderabad, AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi said that there was no need to create a controversy. He also holds the belief that if Muslims can work while fasting, they can also vote and campaign. Echoing what Hussain had said, Owaisi reasoned:
“The holy month enhances spiritualism among Muslims and it will only lead to a greater turnout because they will be free from worldly duties and vote decisively to defeat the evil forces.” The leaders of the Aam Aadmi Party are among those who have claimed that holding elections during Ramzan will inconvenience Muslims.