Summer not an excuse for foregoing right to vote: CEO

Hyderabad: In the wake of prevailing heatwave conditions in Telangana, Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), Vikas Raj urged voters not to make summer heat an excuse, as Election Commission of India (ECI) was making all the necessary arrangements.

Inaugurating the 3-day photo exhibition on Voters’ Awareness put up by the Central Bureau of Communication (CBC) at MGBS, along with V C Sajjanar, MD TSRTC, Vikas Raj informed that the voters can find out their respective polling booths through ECI portal and mobile apps. “To exercise your franchise, you can visit your polling booth with the EPIC or any of the 12 identification cards recognised by ECI. ECI has been conducting awareness campaigns for the past seven to eight months,” he informed.

The Photo Exhibition has an array of 32 information panels developed and curated by CBC, which take visitors through India’s election journey that began in 1951 and also highlights all aspects of polling from ECI’s mobile apps to EVMs. The CEO appreciated the CBC for setting up the photo exhibition at MGBS, which would strengthen the SVEEP (Systematic Voters Education and Electoral Participation) efforts. He urged the voters to become a part of the democratic process.

“We need to make polling a free and fair exercise and responsibility is on the voters too to make it inducement-free,” he said.

Addressing the gathering, Sajjanar, called upon first-time voters and youngsters to exercise their franchise by making good use of the holiday declared on polling day.

He also emphasised that voters should not get influenced by freebies. Earlier, Shruti Patil, Additional DG, PIB & CBC, Hyderabad spoke about the various initiatives of the Ministry of I&B in collaboration with the Office of CEO, Telangana, like the street plays staged across the state. She said that CBC would put up similar exhibitions in major towns of the state to beat Urban voter apathy. The play ‘Votey Mana Ayudham’ (Vote Is Our Weapon) presented by the artists of Song and Drama Division, CBC, during the inaugural programme exhorted first-time and young voters to exercise their franchise.