Gurugram admn ropes in cricketer Chahal to boost voter turnout

Tribune News Service

Gurugram, May 6

Amidst ongoing apprehensions of low voter turnout, especially in urban Gurugram over call for poll boycott by local RWA’s and the prevailing heat conditions, the administration is leaving no stone unturned to get voters to polling booths. In its latest initiative, the Gurugram administration has announced cricketer Yuzvendra Chahal its brand ambassador for the elections. Officials said the popular bowler will appeal to voters to exercise their rights. Haryanvi singers MD Desi Rockstar and Naveen Punia have also been picked as brand ambassadors.

Voting apps to the rescue

• A special app, 'Voters-in-Queues' has been launched to help voters find out their position in the polling queue and determine how long it will take for their turn to vote. This is the first time the app will be used in an election.
• Voters' queues at 367 polling booths in Gurugram, 250 booths in Pataudi, and 455 booths in Badshahpur can be viewed through the app which has been approved by the Election Commission of India (ECI) for experimental use. When a voter enters the name of their area, polling booth and voter ID in the app, an OTP will be provided.
• Using this OTP, they can directly connect with the booth level officer (BLO) who will update the app every 30 minutes to an hour, indicating the number of people present in the queue to vote.

“We are getting popular youth icons to urge people to vote, especially youngsters. Voting is the biggest democratic duty and impacts the day-to-day life of citizens in the long run. We are doing all it takes to make voting a smooth convenient process and will ensure that heat also doesn’t obstruct it. The youth icons will help in sensitising first time voters for their duty,” said DC Nishant Yadav.

It may be noted that as the temperature is touching 40 C in Gurugram, majority of voters have their apprehensions about waiting in queues in the heat to vote. However, the administration says they are working on ensuring that waiting time is not more than few minutes.

A special app, ‘Voters-in-Queues’ too has been launched to help voters find out their position in the polling queue and determine how long it will take for their turn to vote. This is the first time the app will be used in an election.

Yadav said that on May 25, voters’ queues at 367 polling booths in Gurugram, 250 booths in Pataudi, and 455 booths in Badshahpur can be viewed through the app which has been approved by the Election Commission of India (ECI) for experimental use. When a voter enters the name of their area, polling booth and voter ID in the app, an OTP will be provided.

Using this OTP, they can directly connect with the booth level officer (BLO) who will update the app every 30 minutes to an hour, indicating the number of people present in the queue to vote. Voting centres have been set up in common areas of high-rise buildings in Gurugram. Haryana Chief Secretary TVSN Prasad has also inaugurated a voters’ park at the Vikas Sadan.

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