Low voter turnout biggest challenge, efforts on to boost participation: Bihar CEO

Patna, March 17 (IANS) Bihar’s Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) H.R. Srinivasa has said that the low voter turnout in the state remains the biggest challenge for him and he is proactively making efforts to increase the same.

“The biggest challenge in Bihar is low voter turnout on the polling days. Bihar has the lowest polling percentage after Jammu and Kashmir in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. The average turnout in the country was 67 per cent last time while in Bihar, it was 56 per cent,” he told IANS on Saturday.

“We are making efforts to increase voter turnout in the state. We have already launched many campaigns to encourage voters’ engagement and participation in the Lok Sabha elections. We are appealing to people to reach polling booths and use their voting rights in maximum numbers,” the CEO added.

Srinivasa further said that eligible people who haven’t yet registered in the electoral roll are being encouraged to enrol in the voter list.

The number of first-time voters, who are in the 18-19 age group, is the lowest in the state while those in the 30-39 age group are the highest. A large number of young voters have enrolled their names in the electoral roll, he said.

About the enforcement of the Model Code of Conduct (MCC), the CEO said that all political posters and banners will be removed from streets, buildings and government offices within a maximum of 72 hours.

“The MCC has been implemented in the state and we have already started removing posters and banners from government and private buildings, roads, streets, and other public places. No political party or leaders will be allowed to use government or private places like petrol pumps or roads for advertisements. They have to get permission from the competent authorities for advertisement and election campaigns,” Srinivasa said.

“Officers posted at one place for more than three years will be transferred immediately,” he added.

The CEO said that people can report MCC violations through the ‘cVIGIL’. “Once a complaint is registered on the app, within 25 minutes our flying squad will reach the spot to check the violation,” he said.

About sensitive and super-sensitive polling stations in the state, Srinivasa said that the process of identifying such polling stations is currently underway and the final figures are yet to come.

–IANS

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