To disseminate the message of ‘ethical voting’ and ‘maximum voters’ participation’ among electors in view of ensuing lok Sabha elections, the UT Election Department will undertake a campaign through street plays.
The UT Election Department has roped in three NGOs for organising street plays (nukkad nataks) across the city to sensitize the voters and encourage them to exercise their franchise on the polling day. Three NGOs namely Theatre Age Group, Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan, Volunteer for a Better India has joined hands with the UT Election Department to undertake an awareness campaign through the street plays in next month.
The street theatre, an integral part of Indian tradition, is already acting as a valuable tool of campaigning for political parties in the city. And now, the UT Election Department is also focusing on this traditional means to create awareness among the masses. Besides encouraging voters to cast their vote, the street plays would convey a terse message regarding ‘ethical voting’ urging the electors not to fall prey to offers of money, alcohol and gifts from candidates during the general elections.
“To propagate the message of ethical voting and urge people to exercise their franchise, the UT Election Department will organise street plays across the city. For this, the Department has tied up with three NGOs which would enact the street plays,” said UT Joint Chief Electoral Officer Tilak Raj while talking to The Pioneer.
He said, “Our aim is to use all potential means of communication to reach out to the voters in both urban and rural areas to spread awareness about voting. The UT Election Department would also spread awareness about Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) and inclusion of None Of The Above (NOTA) option in EVMs.” The UT Election Department has also planned to offer a discount of 40 per cent in hotels and restaurants to the voters who exercise their right to vote in Chandigarh. The UT Chief Electoral officer said, “The voters after showing the indelible ink mark on their fingers can get 40 per cent discount in hotels and restaurants in Chandigarh during next two days of the election day. The Department has written to the Hotels and Restaurants Association regarding this.”
“The UT Election Department is targeting to ensure 80 per cent voters turnout in the ensuing lok Sabha polls,” he added. The polling day in Chandigarh is April 10. In Chandigarh, the highest electors turn out was 66.85 per cent recorded in the year 1971 here. The voting percentage was recorded 65.51 per cent in 2009 lok Sabha polls. At present, the total number of voters in the city is 5.82 lakh, including 3.15 lakh males and 2.65 lakh females.
With the election day only a month away, the UT Election Department has geared up to organise a number of awareness campaigns to sensitise the electors. In another such campaign, the Department has decided to paste stickers on the boxes of sweets, urging people to vote. The sweet boxes in Sindhi Sweets and Gopal’s Sweets would display slogans urging the voters to exercise their franchise in the general elections 2014. Slogans like “Every Vote Counts”, “Your Vote Your Voice, “Cast Your Vote”, “Your Vote Your Right” among others would be pasted on the sweet boxes.