Tripura Looks to achieve 100% voter enrolment

AGARTALA: Tripura has set itself a target of enlisting 100 per cent of the eligible voters in the electoral rolls ahead of the general elections through massive campaigning and by approaching voters through booth-level officers (BLOs), said state chief electoral officer (CEO), Ashutosh Jindal, on Thursday.

The state achieved 100 per cent Electoral Photo Identity Card (EPIC) coverage and enlisted 30,099 new voters in the 18-plus age group recently. President Pranab Mukherjee awarded Tripura for conducting 100 per cent error-free elections in the state assembly polls last year and for motivating eligible voters through Systematic Voters' Education and Electoral Participation programme.

In order to meet the target, Jindal opened a counter at the 32nd Agartala Book Fair that began on Thursday, to facilitate on-spot enrolment of voters. Since enrolment and updating of electoral rolls is a continuous process, the entire state election machinery has been involved in the work.

Jindal observed that a small portion of youths and shifting voters did not show much interest in meeting election officials and filling forms. It was impossible to adopt the census method for enrolment of all eligible voters, he added.

"Apart from continuous campaigns through mass media, we can facilitate voter-enrolment at major public functions in Tripura. Hence we chose the book fair. If we are successful here, the department will participate in all fairs and festivals to enroll voters and address their queries," Jindal said. He added that the facilitation centre at the book fair comprises competent officers who can begin the registration process on spot, apart from making corrections, if any.