The State’s electorate has
gone up by 23.49 lakhs, taking the total number of electors to 5.37 crore. Giving
an account of important features of the electoral roll, Praveen Kumar, Chief
Electoral Officer, told a press conference that of about 29.38 lakh
applications for addition, around 27.53 lakh applications were accepted. The
names of 4.03 lakh persons were deleted due to various reasons. The net
addition was around 23.49 lakhs.
Of the State’s total electorate
of 5.37 crore, men accounted for 2.69 crore and women 2.68 crore, with
transgender numbering 2,996. However, he described as “a matter of concern”
that only 49 per cent of the eligible population in the age group of 18 to 19
years was enrolled, even though the coverage of the teenagers now went up
by 16 per cent compared to 2013.
On the factors behind the
shortfall in enrolment, the CEO explained that in the absence of final data of
the State’s present population, the figure of shortfall was calculated on the
basis of projections which, in turn, were ased on the provisional figures of
the Census 2011. However, he emphasised the need for greater sensitisation of
the youth, who had to be conveyed that “voting is as exciting as going to
movies.”
Apart from having 1,374 campus
ambassadors across the State, the Elections Department tied up with some non-governmental
organisations to achieve higher enrolment of teenagers.
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