'Mission 277' To Achieve Ideal Voter Turnout Of 80 Pc In Himachal Assembly Polls: CEO

CEO Garg said measures have been taken to achieve an "ideal voter turnout" of 80% in the next state elections in Himachal Pradesh. Authorities are focusing on areas that recorded low turnout last time.

Chief Electoral Officer of Himachal Pradesh, Maneesh Garg With DEC ECI, Nitesh Vyas, at the selfie point

Source : Twitter | @mangarg2002

A number of measures have been taken to achieve the "ideal voter turnout" of 80 per cent in the forthcoming Assembly elections in Himachal Pradesh, Chief Electoral Officer Maneesh Garg has said. The poll authorities are focussing on areas that recorded low voter turnout in the previous elections under the 'Mission 277'. "It's a challenging task to increase (polling percentage) and reach ideal turnout of 80 per cent," Garg told PTI on Saturday.

The voter turnout was about 71 per cent in 1983, 1998 and 2007, about 73 per cent in 2002 and 2012, and 75.57 per cent in the last Assembly elections held in 2017.

Various steps have been taken to increase voting and achieve the ideal voter turnout of 80 per cent in the coming Assembly elections, the schedule for which is likely to be announced in the next few days, he said.

Eleven out of 68 Assembly constituencies had recorded a turnout of less than 70 per cent in 2017, he said. Most of these 11 Assembly segments are located in urban areas, he added.

Further, there are 277 out of total 7,881 polling stations in the state where less than 60 per cent voting was registered in the last Assembly elections, he said.

Garg said the election department has launched "Mission 277" to adopt targeted approach to increase voting percentage in these polling stations in the coming Assembly elections.

Indifferent attitude, holidaying on poll day and long queues are some of the main reasons for low turnout at these polling stations, he said.  The returning officers and district election officers have been asked to hold special camps in these 277 polling stations to motivate voters to exercise their right to franchise in the coming Assembly elections, he said.

The election department is focussing on reaching out to people to increase the turnout, he said.  The election department has honoured each voter aged 80 years and above in the entire state. The poll officials visited the residence of each voter aged 100 and above to honour them. These initiatives will have an impact on the turnout, he said.

Further, the 80-plus voters and those with more than 40 per cent disabilities (PwD) will have voluntary right to cast their votes at their homes through sealed ballots maintaining full secrecy, he added.

The number of PwD voters has increased four times from just 13,000 in 2017 to 56,000 in 2022, he added.  The persons with less than 40 per cent disabilities will be provided wheel chairs and other facilities at the polling stations, he added.