Before polls, state pushes for bigger voter base

BENGALURU: As Karnataka gets ready to face the Assembly elections in 2018, the focus is turning on increasing the voter base with the inclusion of maximum number of first time voters, who are in the age group of 18 and 19 years in the electoral roll.

The State has a population of 6.8 crore people with the voter base of more than four crore.  Around 7.69 lakh first time voters have been registered so far in the draft electoral roll of 2018 and the numbers should go up in the next couple of months if the Systematic Voters’ Education and Electoral Participation (Sveep) initiatives set out by the Election Commission are rigorously followed.

The cohort size of the first time voters in the age group of 18 and 19 years should ideally be in the range of 11 lakhs per year. Those, who have turned 18 years of age on or before January 1, 2018 are eligible to vote and the emphasis of the Election Commission (EC) is on motivating this category of eligible voters to get enrolled and vote.

To begin with, all educational and vocational institutions across the State, who have students in the age group of 16 to 18 years have been asked to set up Electoral Literacy Clubs (ELCs) to educate the young students on the importance of participating in the country's electoral process and bring in greater awareness on their responsibility as an adult Indian citizen.

The office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) has held meetings with the officers in the secondary and pre-university/collegiate education departments, heads of polytechnic institutes. Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) on introducing ELCs in their curriculum at the earliest.

These clubs will have various literary activities linked to elections in India such as debates, quizzes, essay writing, fine art and poster making competitions. 

The EC has already disbursed the first installment of Rs 39 lakh under Sveep to the State Election Commission and will sanction more funds to ensure maximum enrolment of the first time voters and their participation in the forthcoming Assembly elections.

“There will be prizes for the winner in each category and the quiz will be telecast on Doordarshan (DD-Chandana). Besides Rs 39 lakh that we have received, the Election Commission has sanctioned '7 lakh for the quiz category. We are trying to rope in a celebrity — a youth icon to attract the young to get enrolled as voters and exercise their franchise. The ELCs will also provide voter registration forms to the eligible students. They will have to furnish identity and address proof to get enrolled in the voter list,” said Karnataka's Chief Electoral Officer Sanjiv Kumar.
The Election Commission is holding a two-day national workshop on December 21 and 22 on the ELCs, he added.