Avant-garde initiatives to charm voters in Pb and Hry

Stamping poll dates on sweet boxes, doctors' prescription and movie tickets in multiplexes, selfie parlours, cartoon books and more, the Election Commission in states of Haryana and Punjab is implementing several out-of-the-box ideas to encourage voter participation.

Selfie parlours with messages and slogans in the backdrop to goad voters are being planned at various locations, including bus shelters, in Punjab’s Jalandhar. These selfie parlours, the state election authorities hope, would be a hit with the youth and first-time voters who are super active on social media.

After discussion with local authorities, hotels and restaurants in many places in the two states will be offering huge discounts, up to 50% in some places like Karnal, to first-time voters for three days after casting their vote.

The government intends to ensure that prescription slips issued by doctors to patients, both in government and private healthcare facilities, are prominently stamped with the voting date to encourage participation of voters. A meeting with representatives of Indian Medical Association (IMA) has been planned by Haryana chief electoral officer (CEO) Rajeev Ranjan.

Deputy Commissioners in districts have been asked to coordinate at the local level to ensure possibility of printing voting messages and date of polling on sweet boxes, cinema hall tickets and on bills in restaurants. Religious places, including temples, will play audio messages urging people to vote in large numbers.

Awards

College students appearing for examinations are likely to find a voting message on their admit cards or roll number cards. Students paying their college fee will get a receipt with a voting message printed on it. Booklets with cartoons designed keeping in mind first-time voters are being circulated to make them aware of the upcoming festival of democracy.

In Haryana, CEO Rajeev Ranjan has even announced three awards for districts which ensure maximum increase in voting percentage in their constituencies.

Ahead of the 2017 assembly elections in Punjab, the election authorities had roped in nearly 400 postmen from various post offices, who were tasked with delivering letters with a message to cast vote not just as a right but as a foremost duty.