In a unique initiative led by District Election Officer-Cum-Deputy Commissioner Aashika Jain during the IPL match held at the newly-built Maharaja Yadwindra Singh International Cricket Stadium in Mullanpur, 400 first-time voters from Government Polytechnic College Khuni Majra and the Electoral Literacy Club of PTU Campus Mohali encouraged people to vote in record numbers in the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections-2024.
At this event, the Deputy Commissioner not only led the district SVEEP team from front, also personally interacted with many youngsters, motivating them to participate in the biggest festival of democracy.
The Deputy Commissioner said that the office of the Chief Electoral Officer Punjab had set a target of ‘Iss Vaar 70 Paar’ for the Lok Sabha elections 2024,’ and it is their utmost effort to surpass this target in Sahibzada Ajit Singh Nagar district by increasing the percentage to 80 per cent. She said that during the match, the SVEEP (Systematic Voters’ Education and Electoral Participation) activities were also held as part of this initiative. She said that it is the first time that an international-level event has been utilised as a platform for voter awareness. Pertinently, SVEEP is the flagship program of the Election Commission of India for voter education, spreading voter awareness and promoting voter literacy among them.
The Deputy Commissioner said that considering the craze of cricket, the Office of the Chief Electoral Officer has appointed the iconic cricketer Shubman Gill as the State Icon. She envisioned that a public appeal made by Shubman Gill on the big screen during the match would help in achieving the goal of increasing the vote percentage above 70 per cent. Additionally, another state icon, Singer Tarsem Jassar, also shared a voter awareness message and appealed for active participation in upcoming elections.
Aashika Jain further said that several other activities were organised in the stadium to motivate voters to exercise their right to vote. Before the match, the video of the Election Commission of India’s song “Main Bharat Hoon” was broadcast on the big screen, featuring a stage performance by folk singer Ujagar Antal and the national winning team of the Folk Orchestra. She said that many huge cutouts of the election’s mascot, Shera 2.0, were displayed outside the stadium for public awareness. In addition, huge hoardings, banners, canopies, and stands were set up to encourage youth and other attendees to vote during the match. Aashika Jain also said that cups with election awareness slogans and key chains were distributed to cricket enthusiasts on the occasion. Stickers displaying a commitment to cast a vote were also placed on vehicles.
Interacting with the reporters before the match, Aashika Jain said that there is no better platform than cricket to raise awareness about voting among voters, especially the youth. She appealed to voters to exercise their right to vote on June 1, 2024, enthusiastically and without any fear. The Deputy Commissioner also expressed gratitude to the Chief Electoral Officer, of Punjab, Sibin C, for his leadership in this voter awareness campaign. She said that as the sweep activity has been done to reach the IPL lovers, in the coming days the district administration will make every voter aware about the right to vote and use it in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections by using various novel ways.
