The Election Commission of India today observed the 12th edition of the “National Voters’ Day” by holding a special function in New Delhi to encourage the active participation of the country’s voters in the electoral process.
The theme for this year’s “National Voters’ Day” is “Making Elections Inclusive, Accessible and Participative”.
The Election Commission also gave away the ‘National Awards for the Best Electoral Practices’ for the year 2021-22 to the best performing states on the occasion.
Observing the day by organizing elaborate programmes will prove to be ineffective if the young voters are not motivated to participate actively in the country’s electoral process.
An informed voter can play a vital role by exercising his right to franchise in a responsible manner. He or she should vote an apt political candidate to power, who actually works for the welfare of the society instead of advancing his own personal gains.
However, there is a tendency among voters to become disillusioned with the electoral process as the state assembly elections held in different states have been marred by rigging and other unlawful practices.
The Election Commission of India should ensure that elections are held in a free and fair manner in the country.
On the other hand, those voted to power should also be committed to the welfare of the people instead of advancing their own personal gains.
It is essential that the Election Commission conducts special campaigns from time to time encourage voters to cast their votes in a conscious and informed manner. They should not let any external force influence their choice of a particular political candidate during the voting process.
Meanwhile, Assam bagged the national award in the best performing state category during the “National Voters’ Day” celebrations.
The award was handed over to chief electoral officer of Assam, Nitin Khade in the presence of Union minister for law and justice, Kiren Rijiju in New Delhi today.
Vice President of India, M Venkaiah Naidu also participated in the programme virtually.
Moreover, Doordarshan Kendra Guwahati was awarded for its role in sensitizing the masses about the elections.
Assam had a total of 23,437,172 voters who were eligible to cast their votes during the state assembly elections held in March 2021.
The voter turnout during the three-phased state assembly elections was however, recorded at 82.04 per cent.
The concept of the “National Voters’ Day” was first introduced by the Manmohan Singh led Congress government in 2011 to enroll the names those who have attained the age of 18 years in the electoral rolls.
The Electoral Photo Identity Cards (EPIC)are also distributed among these eligible voters on this day.
