Preparing for the 2013 Delhi Assembly elections, the chief electoral officer of Delhi, Vijay Dev on Wednesday said that they are concentrating on two categories of voters: women and youth between 18-19 years of age.
In an exclusive interaction with Millennium Post, Dev said that on the basis of the figures the department has prepared a category-wise list of number of voters registered with them. ‘We have a shortage of enrolment of women and youth aged between 18-19 years. There is an urgent need to attract them to register and for this we are taking several steps,’ Dev said, adding that, ‘Considering the extensive usage of mobile phones by the youth now we are planning to come up with a mobile application wherein you can register yourself very easily.’
Dev added that the Delhi will be the first state where electorates could access Google Maps for various poll related information like location of polling booth and checking their names in the electoral rolls. ‘Election commission had wanted a mobile application so that you can access it when you are in a metro or your car. Also, with young people using smart phones these new applications will certainly prove to be successful,’ Dev said, adding that, ‘SMS based query system is also being looked into and better awareness through social networking websites like facebook and twitter are also being pondered upon.’
Apart from that, Dev said, the department will also organise camps in colleges to educate the students. ‘There are two steps by which we approach the people. First is during the peace times (when there are no elections), during which we just ask the people to become a voter and the second step is taken just before the elections when we educate them and urge them to vote. We try to tell them that there is no divine intervention running the country and that the Parliamentarians elected by them, indeed, do their job,’ Dev said.
A revision in the electoral rolls is another aspect the chief electoral offi90cer stressed upon and tried to clarify that, ‘The guarantee to vote will not be there if you show your card. Instead, the registration in the rolls is more important. What we are looking at is purity of electoral rolls.’
Delhi now has a total of 11867217 registered voters, out of which 5229859 are women and 6637100 are men. Remaining 258 are transgenders. The election department is trying to increase that number by attracting more people to register with them.
On coordination with other agencies during elections, especially police, Dev gave assurance and said, ‘We will ensure that coordination with other agencies is done properly.’
In an exclusive interaction with Millennium Post, Dev said that on the basis of the figures the department has prepared a category-wise list of number of voters registered with them. ‘We have a shortage of enrolment of women and youth aged between 18-19 years. There is an urgent need to attract them to register and for this we are taking several steps,’ Dev said, adding that, ‘Considering the extensive usage of mobile phones by the youth now we are planning to come up with a mobile application wherein you can register yourself very easily.’
Dev added that the Delhi will be the first state where electorates could access Google Maps for various poll related information like location of polling booth and checking their names in the electoral rolls. ‘Election commission had wanted a mobile application so that you can access it when you are in a metro or your car. Also, with young people using smart phones these new applications will certainly prove to be successful,’ Dev said, adding that, ‘SMS based query system is also being looked into and better awareness through social networking websites like facebook and twitter are also being pondered upon.’
Apart from that, Dev said, the department will also organise camps in colleges to educate the students. ‘There are two steps by which we approach the people. First is during the peace times (when there are no elections), during which we just ask the people to become a voter and the second step is taken just before the elections when we educate them and urge them to vote. We try to tell them that there is no divine intervention running the country and that the Parliamentarians elected by them, indeed, do their job,’ Dev said.
A revision in the electoral rolls is another aspect the chief electoral offi90cer stressed upon and tried to clarify that, ‘The guarantee to vote will not be there if you show your card. Instead, the registration in the rolls is more important. What we are looking at is purity of electoral rolls.’
Delhi now has a total of 11867217 registered voters, out of which 5229859 are women and 6637100 are men. Remaining 258 are transgenders. The election department is trying to increase that number by attracting more people to register with them.
On coordination with other agencies during elections, especially police, Dev gave assurance and said, ‘We will ensure that coordination with other agencies is done properly.’