The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Saturday announced the poll schedule to elect 543-member Lok Sabha besides for the Assemblies of Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim. The Lok Sabha polls will be held in seven phases spread over 44 days starting April 19 and counting of votes will be taken up on June 4. With over 97 crore voters–49.7 crore male and 47.1 crore female, this election is the world’s largest election. ECI has vowed to ensure a free and fair election with special focus to tackle with the issues of money, muscle, misinformation and MCC (model code of conduct) violations.
As the country gears up for the biggest festival of democracy, all eyes would be on the ECI to ensure that the elections are free, fair and clean. At the same time, it is the duty of every citizen to come out and vote. Every vote counts and as the Chief Election Commissioner, Rajiv Kumar has appealed to all eligible voters to ‘get inked’, participation of all the voters will make the process inclusive and more meaningful.
Democracy gets strengthened when there is mass participation of the public in election process. However, in past elections, it has been noticed, particularly in urban areas, that people don’t come in large numbers to participate in the democratic process and unfortunately, once the governments are formed, the absentees are the ones who, sitting in their cozy drawing rooms, start commenting on the functioning of the governments. This time around the ECI is trying its all efforts to ensure that people come out in large numbers to vote. The Commission has approached some youth icons and celebrities to play their role in motivating the voters to come out on polling dates and vote.
We have a huge number of young voters and they are the ones that are the country’s future. These voters have a special responsibility to make this election a grand success and besides voting themselves, motivate people in their families and neighbourhoods to come out and vote.
While political parties would do their best to get people to the polling booths but their approach, for obvious reasons, would remain partisan. So, it is the responsibility of the civil society, community leaders and young people to be ambassadors of democracy and make people aware that every vote that they cast, counts and has potential to change their lives for good.
It is for the first time in Lok Sabha elections, people above 85 years of age and those with more than 40 percent disability will be able to cast their votes from home. The ECI has made arrangements that before nominations, form 12 D to will be send to their homes to choose the option and if they choose the option of voting from home, ECI will conduct voting for them at their residence, however, those willing to come to polling stations, will have volunteers and wheelchairs at their service. According to ECI, there are 85 lakh registered voters who are aged above 85 years while the number of PwD voters is 88.4 lakh.
While the ECI doing everything possible to ensure that everyone, whose name figures in the electoral roll is able to vote, let us, as responsible citizens, gear up, get ready and get inked.
