Thaindian News

Chandigarh, Nov 5 (IANS) The Haryana government has decided to launch a campaign to ensure that unregistered voters, especially youngsters, are enrolled during the revision of electoral rolls that is currently under way.

Under the campaign, youths who have attained the age of 18 before Nov 1, 2010, would be targeted and enrolled as new voters.

“Special voter enrolment camps would be organised in all government and private colleges of the state. Our aim is to reach at the doorstep of all eligible voters,” Sumita Misra, Haryana’s chief electoral officer, said Friday.

“We have directed all district election officers to take the elector population ratio (EPR) to the target of 59 percent in the current revision. The Election Commission of India has taken a serious view of the fact that the EPR in Haryana is about 50 percent against the target of 59 percent,” she added.

Besides, voter registration campaigns would be organised in slums and labour colonies and other such clusters, which are normally left out during the electoral revisions.

“We have directed the electoral registration officers to ensure that every polling station has separate booth level officers, who should be residing or posted there,” Misra said.

Applications for inclusion of new names in the voter lists would be received Nov 10-30.

Misra also said that teachers will be not be engaged in revision process as it hampers their work at schools.

“As far as possible, we would avoid engaging teachers. In case a teacher is assigned some duty, we would ensure that he is from the same polling-station and it would not disturb his teaching,” Misra said.