Campaign launched to encourage 1st-time voters to exercise their franchise

Ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, the Centre on Tuesday launched a national campaign to encourage first-time voters to exercise their franchise and make the poll process more participative.

The Union Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and the Union Ministry of Education launched a jingle -- "Banega Desh Mahan, Jab Vote Karenge Hum" -- aimed at about 1.85 crore first-time voters in the country who are eligible to vote in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.

"Let us make our electoral process even more participative. I call upon people from all walks of life to spread the message, in their own style, among first time voters," Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in a post on X, using the #MeraPehlaVoteDeshKeLiye hashtag.

"As the nation gears up for its biggest festival of democracy, I urge all of you to join the #MeraPehlaVoteDeshKeLiye campaign and encourage young voters to exercise their democratic right," Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur said.

Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said he has directed all higher education institutions in the country to conduct comprehensive voter awareness activities on their campuses from February 28 to March 6 to galvanise youth power, emphasise the value of voting and make informed choices.

The prime minister, in his "Mann Ki Baat" radio address, had said the campaign focused on encouraging first-time voters to participate in the electoral process in large numbers.

"Bharat is proud of its youth power that is full of passion and energy and the more the youth participate in the electoral process, the better the results will be for the country," the prime minister had said.

India has nearly 1.85 crore first-time voters in the 18-19 age group who are eligible to vote in the Lok Sabha elections, likely to be held in April-May.

"The main objective of the initiative is to engage and encourage young voters to come out and vote and to convey the importance of voting for the larger good of the nation," an official said.

Designated spaces shall be identified in universities/colleges/higher education institutions where activities related to voter awareness will be undertaken by respective institutions.

The initiative will witness both on-ground physical events and online competitions on the MyGov platform, an official statement said.

Various activities, including competitions on blog writing, podcasts, debate, essay writing, quizzes, extempore and Battle of Bands, will be conducted to show creativity in content creation.

Interactive workshops and seminars emphasising the value of voting and understanding the electoral process, etc, will also be organised at the institutions.

The National Service Scheme and its volunteers will lead the programme in educational institutions, with activities documented on the MyGov portal for wider dissemination.