National Voters' Day: VP Naidu calls for at least 75% voter turn out

On the occasion of the 12th National Voters' Day, Vice-President M. Venkaiah Naidu stressed that no voter should be left behind and urged the citizens to judge the contestants in the elections on merit. The 12th National Voters' Day was based on the theme 'Making our Elections Inclusive, Accessible and Participative'.

New Delhi:Vice-President M. Venkaiah Naidu on Tuesday urged the Election Commission and the citizens to ensure a voter turnout of 75 percent in the next general elections to make electoral democracy more inclusive. Naidu also sought consensus on simultaneous polls to sustain the tempo of development.

In a message on the occasion of the 12th National Voters' Day, Naidu stressed that no voter should be left behind and urged the citizens to judge the contestants in the elections on merit. Since the Vice-President is presently in home isolation in Hyderabad after testing positive for COVID-19, his address was read out at the event in New Delhi.

Referring to the increase in voter turnout from 44.87 percent in the first general elections for the Lok Sabha during 1951-52 to the highest ever 67.40 percent in the 17th Lok Sabha elections in 2019, Naidu complimented all stakeholders for the same. Naidu hailed the Election Commission as a credible, responsive and forward-looking institution that every voter of the democracy can legitimately be proud of. Naidu noted that the challenge before the Election Commission is to ensure a steady increase in voting in every election to make our electoral democracy more inclusive by addressing the barriers to voter participation.

The Vice President urged: “In the 75th year of our Independence, let us resolve to leave no voter behind and aim to increase the voter turnout to at least 75% in the next general elections. Let each one realize that voting is not only a right but a responsibility. We, as a nation, must think and arrive at a consensus to have simultaneous polls at all the three tiers of federal set up and move towards better governance by focusing our attention on all round development of our people”.

The 12th National Voters' Day is being organised on the theme “Making our Elections Inclusive, Accessible and Participative”. It marks the day when the Election Commission was set up on January 25, 1950, a day before the country became a Republic with the Constitution coming into force from January 26, 1950.