Catch them young: Bengaluru administration plans electoral clubs

Bengaluru: With the Lok Sabha elections looming, the Bengaluru Urban District has begun forming almost a 1,000 Electoral Literacy Clubs in various colleges to educate students about the importance of voting.

Chief executive officer of the Bengaluru Urban Zilla Panchayat, M. S  Archana, chaired a district level officers' meeting on Systematic Voters Education and Electoral Participation (SVEEP) on Wednesday to chalk out various programmes to increase the poll percentage.

 Instructing the officers to come out with a plan in a week, she advised them  to first target young voters in pre-university and degree colleges and educate them on the significance of voting. This must be followed by measures to increase awareness among students about ethical voting, she added.  

Every electoral literacy club formed in colleges, will see student representatives voluntarily organising debates, essay competitions, quizzes, street plays,  cycle rallies and walkathons, and using social media and other  innovative methods to sensitise the voters.

BBMP's Deputy Commissioner, South Zone ,  Raju Neelaiah  suggested the officers identify the  polling booth with the lowest turn out the last election, and  plan for a  Chunav Patshala ( voter education campaign targeting booths).  

 Every Electoral Literacy Club  will have ambassadors and student representatives to organise debates and use social media to sensitise voters.