People should exercise electoral franchise

Hyderabad: State Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Bhanwar Lal has urged youth and students to become part of the electoral process by registering themselves with the Election Commission and taking part in the coming general election.

Participating in a live phone-in programme on HMTV on Thursday, Bhanwar Lal expressed happiness at the overwhelming response from the public to the voter registration drive undertaken by the Commission.

After he elaborated at length the initiatives of the Election Commission to enthuse people, especially those who attained 18 years, to register themselves for voter ID cards, there were several calls from the viewers. He answered them all, and clarified all the doubts. He informed that at present 27 lakh people had applied for voter registration and the number would go up by December 23, the last day for voter registration drive. Bhanwarlal, however, lamented that there were many people in the state, who had attained the age of 18 and were are yet to apply for voter registration.

“Despite our claims of our country being the largest democracy in the world, it is a matter of great concern that a large number of youth fail to exercise their right to vote,” he said. He attributed this to lack of interest and awareness about their fundamental political right - right to vote. Elaborating the various measures undertaken by the Commission to encourage eligible citizens to register themselves for voter list, the CEO said that instructions had been issued to colleges and universities across the state, asking the authorities to ensure that eligible students were registered with the Commission. This initiative, he said, was yielding a positive result.

Bhanwar Lal said that there were an estimated 32 lakh youth in the age group of 18-19 years, of whom only 14 lakh registered themselves with the Election Commission. As such, a special drive had been undertaken to encourage them to get enrolled in the electoral rolls, he said.

In order to increase the voting percentage in tribal and agency areas, the Election Commission had undertaken a special drive. Electoral registration officials would spend a day in a week in the hamlets to get them to register with the Commission. The drive was yielding good results as was witnessed in Araku Valley and Paderu constituencies, which registered voting per cent of around 50-55 per cent.

He advised the citizens to register themselves on electoral rolls only at the place of their residence and not at their native place where they own properties, for instance.

He called upon all those who came forward to enroll their names to check the voter lists by December 22, and apply afresh by December 25 in case their names were not found. He said that all the new registered voters would get new a smart card made of PVC along with their colour pictures.