India has 2.49 lakh voters aged above 100 and 1.8 crores above 80

There are 2.49 lakh voters aged above 100 in India, the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Rajiv Kumar said on Wednesday, November 9. In addition to this, there are 1.8 crore voters over 80 years of age, he said. He was speaking to the media after flagging off a bicycle rally in Pune, Maharashtra, to create an awareness about voter registration as part of the national level launch of a special summary revision of the voters' list.

The Election Commission of India's initiative is said to be aimed at increasing the electoral rolls in urban areas. Rajiv said the country has voters from the highest peaks of Himalayas, from the 6,000 km coastline in the south, deserts in the west and regions from the east. The CEC said that India's first voter, Shyam Saran Negi, who recently died aged 106 years, had voted through postal ballot just three days before his death.

Rajiv said the summary revision takes place every year, but this year they are doing it with a specific purpose to increase the participation of citizens from urban areas. He said they want to request all voters in the urban areas, all the youth to come participate, get registered and vote. "Some of the cities, I am not naming them, do not really do that kind of voting and there is a whole lot of ground which we have to cover in urban areas, that is why this rally was organised to create awareness," he said. According to him, apathy is seen among the voters in some advanced metro cities, but it is expected that these cities should also participate in voting whole-heartedly and help strengthen democracy. When pointed out that Pune had recorded a low voting percentage, the CEC said, "Yes, there is apathy." In the 2019 general elections, the overall voting percentage for the Pune Lok Sabha constituency was 49.84%.

Rajiv said the importance of special summary revision is that if anyone is left and not included as a voter, he or she will be included through this initiative. "Young voters who are turning 18 on qualifying dates also get a chance to be enrolled," he added.