Asian voters in Bradford have been urged to head for the polling booths after a new survey suggested that fewer than half of all Asians in Britain are likely to vote in the General Election.

Just 44 per cent of Asians said they would vote on May 6, a poll for digital radio station BBC Asian Network found.

This compares to 55 per cent of the general population, according to an ICM poll for the Guardian last week.

Among the Asian voters who said they would head to the polling booths, people of Indian origin were the most enthusiastic (51 per cent), followed by Bangladeshis (39 per cent) and Pakistanis (38 per cent).

Bradfordian Rashid Awan, president of the Pakistan Society of West Yorkshire, said: “I’m surprised it’s only 44 per cent. I think it will be much higher in Bradford, judging by the enthusiasm among the people I have spoken to.

“I would strongly urge people to come out and cast their vote because it could be important and may prove decisive. I shall certainly be voting and would plead with people from the Asian community to vote as well.”

Mr Awan said the battle for seats in Bradford was shaping up to be an “exciting” one, and added that the number of strong Asian candidates ought to galvanise interest among Asian voters.

Research by the BBC Asian Network found there were more Asian candidates standing for the main parties than ever before – 89 compared to 68 in 2005.

But according to the poll, only 15 per cent of Asian voters will vote for an Asian candidate, with four in ten believing that Britain will never have an Asian Prime Minister.

The survey found that 56 per cent of Asians believe the elected Prime Minister should be tougher on immigration. And asked which leader they would invite for a curry, most chose Gordon Brown (35 per cent), with David Cameron at 28 per cent and Nick Clegg with just eight per cent ICM interviewed 500 adults from Indian, Pakistani and Bangladeshi backgrounds over the Easter period.