Briefing reporters here on Friday Chief Election Commissioner S Y Quraishi said January 25 would be celebrated as the National Voters’ Day.
“On that day young voters would be registered in front of 8,32,000 booths across the country. They would take a pledge saying that they would come out and vote without fear or favour,” CEC said adding that they would be given a badge stating “I am proud to be a voter.”
Disappointed over the apathy of youth in urban areas to register themselves in the voters’ list the CEC said this should be taken as a “proof of adulthood.”
Stressing the need to reach out to every single voter, Quraishi said: “Election results can drastically change just because of one vote.” In order to reach out to the masses, the Election Commission had established polling booths in remote and inaccessible areas even if only one individual voted from the region.
“We have polling booths at 50,000 feet in Ladakh and also at the India-China border in Arunachal Pradesh where the terrain is difficult to access,” he pointed out.
Reiterating that the youth should participate in the political process of the country, he remarked that the maximum number of voting defaulters are the youth in the 18-to-21 age bracket.
“This may be because they are not aware of their voting rights or because they do not have faith in the politicians. The cynicism has to change,” Quraishi said. The EC had also been considering for sometime to rope in celebrities to encourage people to vote in large numbers. Voter percentage in Jharkhand rose from 51 to 58 per cent after cricketer M. S. Dhoni batted for the cause of democracy shortly before the 2009 Assembly polls there.