The Captain Smart Connect scheme launched by Punjab Congress president Capt Amarinder Singh has met with good response from the youth, with the party claiming that more than 11.5 lakh registrations were reported in less than five days.
Expecting a surge in registrations as the deadline of 6 p.m. on November 30 draws closer, Congress workers, supported by the party’s student and youth wings – NSUI and IYC, as well as IPAC team members, have come out in full force to ensure smooth and streamlined registrations through special desks set up near colleges, coaching centres, market areas, and even ATM queues.
More than 84% of the registrations on www.captainsmartconnect.com - the sole platform created exclusively for the purpose, are from men, with the remaining 16% from women. While ludhiana has taken the lead, with 134,143 registrations in 72 hours, Amritsar and Patiala reported 70,862 and 68,516 registrations in the same period.
Youth registering on the website are being provided receipts with unique codes, which will entitle them to receive the 4G enabled smartphone of set specifications – the best in the market at the time of disbursement.
Punjab Congress has promied that once it comes to power, it will give away 50 lakh smartphones to youth, with one year of free data and calling. The party will make allocation in the state budget to meet the cost of the scheme.
The scheme is applicable to youth who are residents of Punjab and in the age group of 18-35 years.