Ranchi: Governor Droupadi Murmu on Monday appreciated the efforts of the Election Commission (EC) on National Voters’ Day and said when normal life was crippled by the Covid-19 pandemic, the commission ensured that elections were conducted across the country smoothly.
Speaking on the occasion, the governor said, “EC has reflected an exemplary work culture in safeguarding the principles of democracy by holding smooth assembly polls in Bihar as well as other parts of the country amid the pandemic.”
Murmu also appreciated the efforts of EC which digitized the voter ID data across the country and made them available to each voter on their phones. “The accessibility of one’s voter ID has been simplified even more with the launch of e-EPIC (Electronic Electoral Photo Identity Card) portal by EC which provides the voters with the freedom to download his or her voter ID card on a smartphone. This will not only make the accessibility of the card easier for everyone but will also encourage the young voters,” she said.
On the occasion, the governor felicitated 14 government officials for their exemplary work during the elections and also met physically challenged and elderly voters who have participated in the franchise. She gave credit to the staff of the state’s chief electoral office (CEO) for the increase in turnout of elderly and specially-abled voters in the last assembly election by providing them facilities to visit their respective polling stations.
The officials felicitated by Murmu included deputy commissioners of Simdega (Sushant Gaurav), West Singhbhum (Arwa Rajkamal) and Ranchi (Chhavi Ranjan). Besides, 11 other officials from the CEO and different districts were also felicitated.
It may be noted that National Voters’ Day is part of the pan-India celebrations organized by EC, which was established on January 25, 1950, to mark its foundation day. The celebrations started in 2011. This year, the day was celebrated on the theme ‘Making our voters empowered, vigilant, safe and informed’.
State chief electoral officer K Ravi Kumar said, “We have completed the review and publication of the voters’ list for 2021 and added a total of 6.47 lakh new voters. We recorded a 2.7% increase in male voters and around 2.9% for female voters. The overall increase in new voters stood at 2.85%, which is the highest in the last five years.”
Munna Kachhap, a specially-abled voter who was also felicitated during the programme, said he was very satisfied with the arrangements made by EC during the last assembly election in 2020. “I was ferried to the polling booth by the polling officials and got a drop home after casting my vote,” he said.