Noor urges Rahul to boycott Bengal polls over ‘vote chori’

Malda: With 8.3 lakh Malda voters marked "under adjudication" in the electoral rolls published on Saturday, former MP Mausam Noor has written to Rahul Gandhi, urging him to boycott the assembly election if it is held on the basis of the current list.

Noor said on Wednesday, "We informed Rahul Gandhi as well as our PCC leadership to boycott the election if it is held on the basis of this electoral roll. However, we were told that it is too early to take such a decision. Instead, we are launching a movement against this list starting March 5."


Blaming both TMC and BJP, Noor said they wanted to keep the Congress away from the fray. She alleged that minority communities were targeted. In Congress strongholds like Sujapur, Mothabari, Malatipur, and Harishchandrapur, the proportion of voters under adjudication was 53.6%, 40.6%, 40.9%, and 36.4% respectively. In Sujapur alone, 1.3 lakh out of 2.5 lakh voters were listed under adjudication.

Noor, who rejoined Congress from the TMC in Jan, has provided a significant fillip to the party which failed to win a single seat in Malda in the 2021 assembly elections. However, in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, Congress won from Malda South. This time, the party has decided to contest the state polls alone.

"The voters, particularly Muslims, were victimised through no fault of their own. The state has a long secular tradition, but BJP and TMC are now engaging in divisive politics," Noor added.

MP Isha Khan Choudhury said, "If this list remains, there is no point in contesting. Our neta Rahul Gandhi has been highlighting the ‘vote-chori' issue for a long time. This list in Bengal, published by the EC, is clear proof of this."