Ludhiana DC among officials feted for best electoral practices

Ludhiana Deputy Commissioner (DC) Jitendra Jorwal, Amritsar DC Sakshi Sawhney, Mansa DC Kulwant Singh, Hoshiarpur DC Komal Mittal and Director, Youth Services, Harpreet Singh Sudan, were among senior IAS officers feted for the best electoral practices at the state-level celebrations to mark the 15th National Voters’ Day here on Saturday.

Additional Chief Electoral Officer Harish Nayar presided over the event while Joint Chief Electoral Officer Sakatar Singh Bal was among others present.

The event commenced with a bike rally in which hundreds of youths riding Harley Davidson and other super bikes disseminated the message of right to vote among the people.

During the state-level function, the election officials were felicitated for their exemplary services during the Lok Sabha elections 2024.

Among other officials, the ADC of Ropar Pooja Syal Grewal and Jagraon Kulpreet Singh and Moga SVEEP nodal officer Shubhi Angra, Ferozepur election tehsildar Chand Parkash, differently abled cyclist Manmohan Singh, Best ERO Kuldeep Bawa, Best SVEEP nodal officer Harjot Singh and Best BLO Karamjeet Kaur were also awarded for their best practices adopted during the last parliamentary elections.

Besides, winners of the Punjab Election Quiz-2025 Sumeet Narula from Moga, Gurleen Kaur from Patiala and Lavish from Mohali were felicitated with a laptop, tablet and smart watch, respectively.

A video message of Chief Election Commissioner Rajeev Kumar was also played during the event. The Electoral Literacy Club portal was also launched and the SVEEP Coffee Table book was released during the event. First-time voters were also given the EPIC cards.

Winners of poster-making, mehndi, and speech competitions were also honoured. Students from Red Cross Deaf and Dumb School and other educational institutions presented a cultural programme.

Motivating the youth to exercise their right to vote in the elections, the Additional Chief Electoral Officer exhorted them to vote in large numbers. He told them about the importance of the day being celebrated since January 25, 2011, and how voting was one of the greatest tools given by the Constitution to protect democracy.

Nayar stressed that casting vote was a duty and all should perform the same sincerely as it will ensure protection of their rights. He also administered oath to the participants for exercising their right to vote in a free and fair manner.