State roadways buses driving home awareness for higher voter turnout

As the Haryana Assembly elections approach, the district authorities involved in the election process have intensified systematic voters’ education and electoral participation (SVEEP) activities. In this series, the buses of Haryana Roadways are being used to spread awareness among voters to cast their vote on October 5 with vibrant and attractive messages on these.

The Information, Public Relations, Languages and Culture Department, Haryana, has initiated this process and has put up posters on the buses of different routes across the state with the messages, urging people to participate in the festival of democracy.

Giving details, Uttam Singh, Deputy Commissioner-cum-District Election Officer, said the buses of Haryana Roadways were playing a key role in raising voter awareness in the upcoming poll.

These buses from the Karnal depot were spreading awareness by displaying slogans like –“Do not treat it as a holiday, come to the polling booth and vote,” and “The symbol of democracy –the blue mark on your finger” to encourage citizens across Haryana to participate in the democratic process.

These buses, plying on different routes from Karnal, will help in increasing voters’ participation as per the directions of the Election Commission, Haryana.

Anubhav Mehta, SDM-cum-Returning Officer, Karnal, said the voter whose names were in the electoral roll but did not possess a voter ID card, there was no need to worry. The Election Commission of India had allowed 12 alternative documents that could be used to cast vote in the upcoming Haryana Assembly elections.

Mehta said the voting would take place through the electronic voting machines (EVMs) and only those whose names appeared on the electoral roll would be eligible to vote. He encouraged all voters to check their names on the list and verify their polling booths, which could be done online via the Election Commission’s website or the Voter Helpline app.

“If a voter’s name is on the list but they do not have their voter card, they can still vote using one of the 12 authorised photo ID documents. These include Aadhaar card, MGNREGA job card, driving licence, PAN card, passport, pension documents with a photograph, photo passbooks from banks or post offices and others.

Mehta said booth level officers (BLOs) were distributing voter slips door-to-door. This initiative was aimed at ensuring that the voters faced no problems on election day and were aware of their polling stations.

He said training had been provided to all polling parties to ensure smooth conduct of the elections using the EVMs. To further assist the polling teams, sector supervisers and duty magistrates had been appointed to oversee operations and address any concerns that might arise during the voting process. The BLOs’ efforts to distribute voter slips would also help in boosting voter turnout.

He urged all voters to take part in the democratic process and strengthen the nation’s democracy by casting their vote.