LOK SABHA ELECTIONS 2019: SUPPORT OF VIGILANT VOTERS NECESSARY FOR TRANSPARENT & FAIR ELECTIONS: CHIEF ELECTION OFFICER

Ludhiana, March 7, 2019: Chief Election Officer Punjab Mr S Karuna Raju has appealed to all stakeholders to participate in election process for the upcoming Lok Sabha 2019 elections wholeheartedly. He said that support of vigilant voters is necessary for the conduct of elections in transparent and fair manner. He was speaking addressing a workshop organised for industrialists, NRIs, third gender, workers and other unions at Bachat Bhawan, here today. He said that the Election Commission of India is committed for the conduct of upcoming Lok Sabha elections in a free, fair and transparent manner as always, but it is not possible without the active support of vigilant voters. He said that more than 2.03 crore voters of Punjab state would participate in the upcoming elections, out of which majority are labour, NRI, third gender, differently abled etc. Mr S Karuna Raju stated that it is observed that sometimes such voters do not exercise their right to vote or are not able to do it. He said that every single vote counts during elections, due to which we all should exercise our right to vote. He said that some people think that the Electronic Voting Machine can be tampered with, which is not true. He said that this machine does not have any instrument that lead to hacking etc. Mr Raju said that this time, first time voters are ecstatic for participating in the election process and that is why, more than 2.5 lakh such voters have got themselves registered. He appealed to the industrialists to keep their factories closed on polling day and should motive their employees/labour to vote. He said that not allowing holiday on polling day would be considered as a crime. Mr S Karuna Raju said that the publication of voter lists has been completed on January 31, 2019 and the remaining voter cards would be distributed to the voters shortly. He informed that as per the directions of the Election Commission of India, special emphasis is being given towards increasing the voting percentage and that is why, the commission is creating awareness amongst first time voters, differently abled, women, NRI and voters that can be easily influenced. He informed that out of total 23213 polling booths of the state, web casting would be organised in more than 6000. And it is being done keeping in mind sensitive nature of these booths and their previous record. While replying to a query by media persons, he clarified that the law and order situation in Punjab is completely normal and the entire election process would be completed peacefully. Prominent among those present on the occasion included District Election Officer-cum-Deputy Commissioner Mr Pradeep Kumar Agrawal, Ludhiana (Rural) SSP Mr Varinder Singh Brar, ADC (General) Mr Iqbal Singh Sandhu, ADC (Jagraon) Mrs Neeru Katyal Gupta, besides several others.