- Tuesday, February 25, 2025
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.
By: Shubham Ghosh
INDIA’S Narendra Modi government on Tuesday (27) launched a national campaign to encourage first-time voters to exercise their franchise and make the electoral process more participative.
The information and broadcasting and education ministries launched a jingle towards this goal — “Banega Desh Mahan, Jab Vote Karenge Hum” (The country will become big only when we will vote) — aimed at about 1.85 crore (18.5 million) first-time voters in the country who are eligible to vote in the upcoming general 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 (My first vote for the country) hashtag.
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“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,” Indian information and broadcasting minister Anurag Thakur said.
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.
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The prime minister, in one of his “Mann Ki Baat” (Words of the Mind) radio addresses, 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 others, will be conducted to show creativity in content creation. Interactive workshops and seminars emphasising the value of voting and understanding the electoral process will also be organised at the institutions.
(With PTI inputs)
