Eyeing higher turnout, poll team visits Chamba villages

Our Correspondent

Chamba, April 22

A SVEEP team in Chamba under the campaign of Election Commission of India (ECI) today organised voter awareness camps at Karla polling booth and nearby villages — Baadka, Baga, Kanuhi, Khapra, Sanger, Kufadu and Rajera. The camps were aimed at educating electors about the importance of voting and increasing poll percentage.

Speaking on the occasion, SVEEP nodal officer Avinash Pal said the villages recorded a low polling percentage during the last Lok Sabha elections.

He highlighted the efforts undertaken to understand the reasons behind the low voter turnout and to improve voter participation in the future elections. The campaign included community meetings, discussions with panchayat representatives, shopkeepers and youth, followed by a town hall meeting.

The nodal officer also detailed on voting procedures, including voter helpline and online registration through the Voters Services Portal (VSP).

Prof Pal said that the mainstay of democracy was an informed electorate. Voters are indeed the cornerstone of democracy. In a democratic system, the right to choose the government rests in the hands of the voters.

Therefore, the responsibility of building a strong nation and electing a good government also lies with the voters. To uphold democratic traditions, voters should be aware of their rights and duties, he said.

He urged local residents to strive for an improvement in the voter turnout. He expressed gratitude to District Electoral Officer Mukesh Repaswal for his guidance and encouragement during the constituency tour and Assistant Electoral Officer Arun Sharma for his assistance and.

He also mentioned that the SVEEP teams were actively working in various districts of the region to compile reports on polling centres with low voter turnout in previous elections and to ensure active participation of voters in the festival of democracy.

During the event, attendees pledged to vote impartially, without coercion or influence and to encourage others to do the same under the slogan “My Vote, My Power.”

Members of the SVEEP team, including Shekhar Kumar, Deepak Kumar, and Dr Rajesh Sehgal, emphasised the importance of unbiased and fearless voting.

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