Ahmedabad, Sep 11 (IANS): Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar on Friday said the Election Commission of India (ECI) was committed to ensuring that every citizen who has attained the age of 18 becomes a registered voter and exercises the right to vote.
Speaking to IANS, Kumar said the interaction with Booth Level Officers (BLOs) during his visit to Gujarat was very encouraging and underlined the importance of grassroots-level election officials in strengthening voter participation.
“The interaction with the BLOs was very good, and the Election Commission’s objective is that every citizen of India who has completed 18 years of age must become a voter and must also cast their vote,” he said.
“Whether they belong to any religion, whether they are young people in our families, elderly people in our families, women or men in our families, persons with disabilities or LGBT individuals, everyone has to join this campaign. To make this campaign successful, around 11 lakh Booth Level Officers across the country and more than 15 lakh Booth Level Agents of all political parties are involved,” CEC Kumar told IANS.
The Chief Election Commissioner also urged citizens to download the ECI Net App and use it to seek assistance with voter-related issues.
“I will request everyone to download the ECI Net App. When they enter their voter number and face any problem, they can click on the ‘Book a Call’ option. The BLOs will then contact them and resolve their issues,” he said.
“We want to assure every citizen who has reached the age of 18 years that they should exercise their right to vote,” CEC Kumar added.
The CEC arrived in Gujarat on Thursday for a two-day official visit. Addressing the media upon his arrival at Ahmedabad Airport, he expressed his delight at visiting Gujarat, the birthplace of Mahatma Gandhi and Sardar Patel.
Highlighting the purpose of his visit, CEC Kumar had said he would interact directly with ground-level election officials, including BLOs, as well as members of Electoral Literacy Clubs (ELCs) from across the state.
He had emphasised that these grassroots officials and young members of electoral literacy clubs serve as a crucial link between the Election Commission and citizens.
During his visit, CEC Kumar paid tributes to Mahatma Gandhi at Sabarmati Ashram. Later in the evening, he visited the Ahmedabad Management Association (AMA) campus, where he interacted with prominent citizens on the theme, ‘Conducting Elections in India – The World’s Largest Democracy’.
