Satipati sect voters exercise their franchise for first time in Vansda

Surat: The Navsari district administration achieved a major feat during the first phase of assembly polls with around 55 out of the total 128 voters from the Satipati sect exercising their franchise on December 9.

The elections in the Vansda assembly constituency of Navsari saw history being made as the followers of Satipati sect voted for the first time in the history of Indian democracy.

The followers of the sect are mostly tribals of south Gujarat. In Navsari district they are mostly situated in remote villages of Vansda taluka.

The sect followers stay away from any government scheme and thus do not participate in the election process. The lack of government document to prove identity was a big challenge for the returning officer of Vansda in order to issue them voter identity cards (Electronic Privacy Information Center). The difficulty was resolved using creative interpretation of law by relying on testimony of village headmen, local revenue functionaries and thus creating the first government identity card for them.

"The subsequent task of involving them in the voting process was even a bigger challenge. The district election officer appealed personally followed by multiple visits of the returning officer. These visits included discussions with village elderly and showcasing to the youth the available government schemes and rights they are missing in absence of any identity document," returning officer, Vansda, Lalit Narayan Singh said.

"The efforts of the district election officer bore fruit and 55 out of 128 registered voters voted on December 9. Their inclusion into the democratic process is bound to have a rippling effect in the elections to come," Singh added.