Colleges in Puducherry have launched a campaign to ensure that first-time voters from their colleges exercise franchise in the right way.
“Students should also be aware of the Nota vote. It would help them to highlight their dissatisfaction about the candidates. This will make the political parties think twice about their strategies”, said District Election Officer S.B. Deepak Kumar, while speaking at theBharathidasan Government College for Women on Friday.
The Election Department, through the Systematic Voters Education and Electoral Participation (SVEEP) program has been spreading awareness in colleges. But the colleges have to go the extra mile to educate their students. In the Bharathidasan Government Women’s College, they have compiled the data of all their eligible student voters and created a database. “This has helped the college to identify students who possess an Electors Photo Identity Card those whose names are those whose names have not been registered in the electoral rolls,” said S. Varalakshmi, principal of the college. In the Aravindar College of Arts and Science, the activities began a month ago. The college has held a series of competitions including essay writing, elocution, drama and painting contests to make the students aware of ethical voting, college principal P. Lakshminarayanan said.
Around two weeks ago, the PRIST University held a signature campaign and a student rally to raise awareness about voting, vice principal of the college Ravichandran said. Through the SVEEP program, Election Department has also launched a campaign to educate first time voters.
The campaign was kicked off at the Bharathidasan College, with District Election Officer S.B. Deepak Kumar handing out appeal letters to the students.
