Purushottam appeals political parties to share responsibility in boosting voter turnout in U’khand
PIONEER NEWS SERVICE | Dehradun
In a bid to improve voter turnout in Uttarakhand, Chief Electoral Officer, BVRC Purushottam has stressed the need for collective responsibility, stating that political parties must match the efforts of the Election Commission to encourage greater public participation in the electoral process.
Addressing a media interaction at the Secretariat on Wednesday, Purushottam outlined several steps being taken by the EC to enhance the electoral process. He informed that for the first time, political parties like BJP, Congress and CPI have given the names of booth level agents (BLAs) in Uttarakhand. He also said that over 1,000 new polling booths will be established across the State as the maximum number of voters per booth has been reduced from 1,500 to 1,200. This is expected to ease access to polling stations and reduce congestion on polling day.
He said that additional polling booths will be set up in high-rise buildings and large housing colonies. Voters will be able to access booths closer to their residences and each polling centre will have a mobile deposit facility. The commission will now receive death registration data directly from the Registrar General of India (RGI) database, allowing for timely and accurate updates of the voter list after verification to strengthen the electoral database. Purushottam stated that the commission is also working on improving the design of the voter information slips.
The slips will now display the serial number and part number of the voter more prominently to make them easier to understand and use. He said the EC has organised 85 meetings with recognised political parties in the State. These include two at the CEO level, 13 at the district election officer (DEO) level and 70 at the electoral registration officer (ERO) level. The commission is also conducting regular training for booth level officers (BLOs), with 70 BLOs and supervisors from the State trained in the first phase in Delhi.
He said the process of appointing booth-level agents from recognised political parties is currently underway. Purushottam said that Monthly Systematic Voters’ Education and Electoral Participation (SVEEP) activities are also being carried out with different themes to raise awareness among voters. “The EC’s main aim is to increase the voting percentage among youths, especially first time voters and we are working efficiently to achieve it,” he added.
