Young, urban voters' not turning up on polling day a major challenge: CEC Rajiv Kumar
Bengaluru, Mar 10: Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar on Friday flagged concern over the apathy among young and urban voters during elections and called it a major challenge.
He wondered why polling day is not celebrated like a festival of democracy and rather taken as a holiday.
"One major challenge before the Commission is the general apathy, mainly young and urban apathy amongst our voters," Kumar said during 'Vote Fest-2023' organised by the Chief Electoral Officer of Karnataka and the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP).
The CEC sought to know how to motivate the 'non-voters' and draw them to the polling stations.
"It has become extremely crucial to understand the reasons, perceptions, beliefs, motivations, barriers, challenges, experiences, contexts, and the contours that shape their decision to not cast their vote. Can we motivate these non-voters to realise their power, believe in that power and energise them to take the call that their one vote can make a huge difference?" Kumar wondered.
"Why can't we celebrate the polling day with the same zeal, enthusiasm and colours as we celebrate our festivals? Today, youth is at the perpetual state of presumption that their vote does not influence government decision-making," he pointed out.
As part of its exercise to encourage voters to exercise their franchise, the Commission launched a Hackathon 'ELECTHON 2023' to encourage innovation and creative solutions to issues of electoral process.
Twin exhibitions on history of elections in Karnataka and voter awareness was organised at the J N Tata Auditorium of the Indian Institute of Science.
Around 1,000 people attended the programme where the oldest voters were felicitated and a few young voters were symbolically presented with new voter ID cards. Persons with disability, tribal youth and transgender icons were also honoured.
Further, the CEC also participated in an interaction session in which various dignitaries including the vice chancellors of universities, director of IIIT/IIM(B), chairperson/CEO of IT companies, districts and state icons, entrepreneurs, students and young voters were present.
Kumar also flagged off eight mobile vans with LED hoardings carrying voter awareness messages by celebrities like ace retired cricketer Rahul Dravid persuading people to vote.
The eight vehicles will cover all the 28 assembly constituency segments of Bengaluru as a part of Systematic Voters' Education and Electoral Participation (SVEEP).
A team of Election Commission officials led by CEC Rajiv Kumar arrived in the city on a three-day visit on Thursday to assess the readiness for assembly elections in the state.
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Elgar Parishad-Maoist links case: HC grants bail to Rona Wilson, Sudhir Dhawale
Mumbai, Jan 8: The Bombay High Court on Wednesday granted bail to researcher Rona Wilson and activist Sudhir Dhawale, both arrested in 2018 in the Elgar Parishad-Maoist links case.
A division bench of Justices A S Gadkari and Kamal Khata took note of their long incarceration, and the fact that the trial is not likely to be completed any time soon.
The accused were languishing in jail since 2018 and even the charges are yet to be framed by the special court, defence lawyers Mihir Desai and Sudeep Pasbola had argued.
The high court on Wednesday said it was not dealing with the merits of the case at this stage.
Wilson and Dhawale were directed to submit a surety of Rs one lakh each, and appear before the special NIA court for the trial hearing.
The bench noted that there are over 300 witnesses in the case, and hence it is not possible for the trial to be concluded in the near future.
The case pertains to provocative speeches allegedly delivered at the Elgar Parishad conclave held in Pune on December 31, 2017, triggering violence at Koregaon-Bhima in Pune district the next day.
The Pune police had claimed the conclave was backed by the Maoists.
The National Investigation Agency later took over the probe. Of the 16 persons arrested in the case, many are now out on bail.
Rona Wilson was arrested in June 2018 from his home in Delhi. He was described by the probe agencies as one of the top brass of urban Maoists.
Sudhir Dhawale was one of the first to be arrested, accused of being an active member of the banned Communist Party of India (Maoist).
