INDIA VOTES 2024: 17K new electors enrolled in one month, first-time voters over 53K

Tribune News Service

Nitin Jain

Ludhiana, April 8

In what appears to be the outcome of the sustained campaign initiated by the district administration, almost 17,000 new voters have been enrolled across 14 Vidhan Sabha segments falling under the Ludhiana (9) and Fatehgarh Sahib (5) Lok Sabha constituencies in the district.

While the count of first-time voters aged between 18 and 19 years has crossed the 53,000-mark, the aged electors aged 85 years and above were around 22,000.

While the electoral population (EP) ratio, which is the count between the total number of electors enrolled against the projected population of the district, has risen from 668 to 680, the gender ratio as per the latest electoral rolls has gone up from previous 871 to 876.

Aim to cover all eligible voters

Our aim is to leave no eligible resident without registration as a voter. At the same time, we are also checking old entries to delete the names of deceased and those who had left the district, from the voters’ lists. For the same, we are holding a series of awareness and education drives across the district. —Sakshi Sawhney, DC-cum-DEO

Spearheading the special campaign to enroll new voters and motivate the registered electorates to exercise their franchise, Deputy Commissioner-cum-District Electoral Officer (DEO) Sakshi Sawhney has initiated a host of activities across educational institutions and other organisations involving social activists across the district.

Sakshi told The Tribune here on Monday that the total count of voters in the district had increased from 26,54,344 as on March 1 to 26,71,045 on April 2, which comprised 17,40,969 across nine Assembly segments, which were part of the Ludhiana parliamentary constituency.

She disclosed that the EP ratio had also gradually gone up from 668 as on October 27, 2023, when the draft electoral rolls were published, to 680 on April 2, while considering January 1, 2024, as the qualifying date to register the new voters in the district.

The gender ratio as per the latest voters’ list has improved from 871 as on October 27, 2023, to 876 on April 2.

The count of first-time voters, aged between 18 and 19 years, has reached 53,321 while electors aged 85 years and above were 21,987.

Interestingly, the number of first-time voters has gone up from 47,749 as on January 22 to 53,321 on April 2, which accounted for an increase of 11.67 per cent in almost two months while the count of old voters aged 85 years and above has gone down to 21,987 on April 2, which saw a dip of 2.63 per cent.

There were as many as 15,706 differently abled voters registered in the district, of which 9,549 were part of Ludhiana while the rest 6,157 will vote for the Fatehgarh Sahib segment.

Of the total 4,979 service electorates in the district, 2,166 were part of Ludhiana while the rest 2,813 will exercise their franchise in Fatehgarh Sahib constituency. Besides, 95 NRI voters were also registered in the district, of which 64 will vote in Ludhiana while the rest 31 were part of the Fatehgarh Sahib LS seat.

Of the total 2,919 polling stations across 1,410 locations in the district, 1,842 stations at 773 locations fall under Ludhiana while the rest 1,077 stations at 637 locations were part of the Fatehgarh Sahib constituency.

While 1,460 polling stations at 515 locations, including 1,204 stations at 365 locations under the Ludhiana constituency, were located in urban areas, 1,459 polling stations at 638 locations, including 895 stations at 408 locations under the Ludhiana parliamentary seat, were spread across rural areas in the district.

“The additional supplement of the voters lists will be published after the last day of nomination filing,” the DC said while divulging that Form 6 (application form for new voters) will be accepted till the last day of the nomination filing whereas Form 7 (application form for deletion of registered voters) and Form 8 (application form for correction in the entry of registered voters) will be kept pending for disposal till the final publication of the electoral rolls.

Sakshi said the entire district election machinery had been fanned out to cover each nook and corner of the district with an aim to registering all eligible residents as voters and motivate them to exercise their franchise in large numbers to cross the 70 per cent voter turnout target.

She said a special drive was also underway to ensure that each registered voter in the district was having the election photo identity cards (EPICs). Under the campaign, as many as 31,974 new EPICs had been printed during January and February, most of which had already been delivered to eligible voters through post or booth-level officers (BLOs).

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