Shopping discounts for people who vote

March 23, 2014 09:51 pm | Updated May 19, 2016 10:55 am IST - Bardhaman:

In a first of its kind initiative to encourage people to come in large numbers to vote, shopping malls, shops and business establishments in Bardhaman district in West Bengal will give special discounts to voters who show the indelible ink mark on their left forefingers, official sources said on Sunday.

Burdwan District Magistrate and District Election Officer (DEO) Saumitra Mohan held a series of meetings with various chambers of commerce, market committees, markets and shopping malls including big brands/market chains and persuaded them to give special discount to voters who show their elector’s photo identity card (EPIC) and the indelible ink mark on their left forefingers to show that he/she has exercised franchise, the sources said. The discounts will be offered on specified dates.

“We hope that as a result of this initiative, first of its kind in the country, we can encourage voter participation during the ensuing polls. The discount vary from 5 to 10 per cent depending upon the capacity of the vendor/agency concerned,” Mr Mohan said

There are three Lok Sabha constituencies in the district. Bardhaman Purba and Bardhaman Durgapur constituencies will go to polls on April 30 while elections will be held in Asansol on May 7.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.