Parties target first time voters
Mail News Service
Jamshedpur, April 3 : District electoral officers across the state have been asked to keep a vigil on parties being hosted at clubs and community buildings in view of Lok Sabha elections. The district electoral officers have put scanners on clubs, banquet halls and community buildings used for hosting wedding parties.
�We have decided to set up flying squads in districts to keep tab on such events and the district electoral officer (deputy commissioners of different districts) will have to collect daily booking details of wedding halls and community center and verify through wedding cards or other documents to ensure that function is genuine. There may be attempts by the political parties and candidates to distribute freebies to lure voters. The decision has been taken to prevent any misuse of such places. Often during elections, political parties book wedding halls and community centers on pretext of wedding or other functions and then misuse them for their benefits,� said an official.
The vigil will be in place in the respective area till election is over.Incidentally, Lok Sabha polls would be held in the state in four phases between April 29 and May 19.
� We have asked officers that in case of any suspicion of functions being hosted by persons having affiliation to political parties or candidates, they will have to report the issue to the IT department for proper investigation of expense and the expenditure should be included in the poll expense of the respective candidate,� said the official.
The parties are also trying to woo young voters. The number of first time voters is around 2.20 lakh in the state.
Anil Modi, spokesperson of Kolhan BJP said that BJP is organisingprogrammesto connect with young voters. The party has preferred to touch an emotional chord by helping first time voters with their new voter id cards.
Congress party officials said that the party will make sure to organise campaigns to target first time voters. The youth wing of Congress- National Students Union of India (NSUI) and Youth Congress have had already started organising various meetings at various administrative levels to woo young voters. Moreover, the party has also decided to organise meetings of their candidates with first time voters.
“We have asked the youth wing to work at the grassroot level. This will build a direct connection with the young minds,” said a leader.