12/07/2018 India (International Christian Concern) – Christians in India have launched a petition calling on election authorities to investigate instances of Christian voter suppression in the recent Madhya Pradesh state elections. The petition was drafted after hundreds of Christians were denied the right to vote because their names had been mysteriously removed from the state’s voting list.

Among those turned away from the polling booths was Archbishop Leo Cornelio of Bhopal. Talking to the media, Archbishop Cornelio said, “I am sure my name was deliberately deleted from the voter list. This is a stern message to the Christian community that they are no more in the reckoning.”

Christians suspect that the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is behind the removal of Christian names. Traditionally, Christians vote for the BJP’s political rival the Congress Party because of the party’s secular ideology.

Christians make up less than 1% of the population of Madhya Pradesh which has been ruled by the BJP for the past 15 years.

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