New Delhi: It is National Voter's Day on Tuesday and the Election Commission (EC) hopes that celebrating the day will encourage young voters to register and participate more in the election process.
Chief Election Commissioner SY Quraishi said in the last year 3.8 crore new voters have been enrolled of which 1.8 crores belong to the age group of 18 who have just become eligible.
Quraishi said on the National Voters Day on January 25 there is a programme for voters and officials to take a pledge to strengthen the campaign.
Booth-level officers in over 8 lakh polling station areas will felicitate the newly-registered voters in a brief ceremony and hand over photo identity cards to them, he said, adding that they will be given a badge with a slogan 'Proud to be a Voter - Ready to Vote'.
He said there has been a declining trend in voters participation over the decades which has been hovering around 55-60 per cent in the past few elections.
The Commission has found gaps in terms of not only registration but also in participation in elections, he said and added that some media campaigns in the past using national icons have paid dividends.
He also appealed to the media to involve themselves in the process so that people participation in elections goes up.
With Additional Inputs from PTI
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