Sudarsan Pattnaik's comes up with sand sculpture on National Voters' Day

Puri: On the eve of National Voters' Day, eminent sand artist and Padma Shri Awardee Sudarsan Pattnaik created a sand sculpture at Puri beach in Odisha on Wednesday. The theme for this year's National Voters' Day is "Nothing like voting, I vote for sure". He created the theme on a semi-circle blue background. Below the sand art, he wrote, "National Voters' Day". 

Sharing the pictures and a video of the sand sculpture on Twitter, Pattnaik wrote: "Nothing Like Voting, I Vote for Sure! On #NationalVotersDay. My SandArt at Puri beach Odisha."  

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi greeted people on National Voters' Day and called for everybody to work together to further strengthen active participation in elections. National Voters' Day has been celebrated on January 25 every year since 2011 to mark the foundation day of the Election Commission of India, January 25, 1950.

"Greetings on National Voters' Day. Inspired by this year's theme of 'Nothing Like Voting, I Vote For Sure', may we all work together to further strengthen active participation in elections and strengthen our democracy," Modi said in a tweet. "I also laud ECI (Election Commission of India) for their efforts in this area," the prime minister said.

Moreover, President Droupadi Murmu urged people to consider voting as their contribution to nation-building. She said people must vote with the spirit of "nation paramount". Addressing an event to mark the 13th National Voters' Day, she said it is a great achievement of India's election process and democracy that the active participation of women in the democratic process is continuously increasing.

In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the number of women voters was slightly higher than that of men. She noted that for the first time in the history of the Indian Parliament, the total number of women MPs in both Houses together has reached the 115 mark. From gram panchayats to Parliament, women are contributing significantly. Their participation and numbers should increase further, she said.