People should realize power of casting vote, says SEC

Nagpur: People should realize the immense power they wield while exercising their franchise and put it to good use, said JS Saharia, state election commissioner, on Friday.
There are more than 2.5 lakh representatives elected to various municipal corporations, zilla parishads and gram panchayats in Maharashtra. Considering this scenario, people should use their sensibility and vote on the merit of the candidates, he added.

Saharia was speaking at the inaugural function of a two-day national conference titled ‘Democracy, elections and good governance’, organized by Nagpur University at Guru Nanak Bhavan.

He opined that the universities should take an initiative to educate students about the election process from the year they take admission to a college. Besides, students should also be made aware of how a civic government works and their duty as a responsible citizen.

Saharia said Election Commission (EC) is firm on ensuring transparency during elections for which new plans are chalked out from time to time. “EC is an independent body and is not influenced by the ruling and other parties. It therefore becomes our duty to ensure unbiased elections.”

Talking about the dos and don’ts for parties and their candidates, he said, “As per norms, a contestant cannot spend more than the stipulated amount during electioneering. It is binding on the contestants to submit expenditure statement to EC after the polls. Besides, the candidates in fray have to come clean in public so that transparency is assured.”

Head of the political science department of NU Mohan Kashikar, political analyst Valerian Rodrigues, pro-VC Pramod Yeole and coordinator Vikas Jambhulkar were present.