Cast your vote proudly, says EC

Jaipur: The Election Commission has come up with splashy tag lines in its hoardings to increase the voter turnout in assembly polls. Associating voting with pride, respect and honor, the commission tries to raise the mood of general public for participating in democracy’s biggest festival. 
    “Loktantra hum se, vote karein garv se” (Democracy is because of us, cast your vote proudly) and “na bhay se, na dar se na pralobhan se, vote denge apni samaz se (without any fear or favour, cast vote with knowledge) are all catching eyes balls of public at large. Officials at EC are enthused with the success of their campaigning claims that themes around voting were chosen after lot of research. 
    “Lot of mind was applied before deciding on themes. We tried to address concerns like people intimidating or influencing during voting. The message is loud and clear that voters will vote fearlessly. To address the urban apathy, we urged them to come out and vote rather than criticizing and debating. For this, caricatures and cartoons have been used,” said Ashok Jain, chief electoral officer, Rajasthan. In the awareness campaign, special focus has been given on youth participation. Messages like “youth chala booth” and loktantra ki raksha ke liye yuva judo, matdan karo (for protection of democracy, youth associate and vote,” is placed across the city. “One our prime aim is to inspire youth to participate in the process. It is very necessary for the democracy and special messages were framed for them,” added Jain. 
    The public too have appreciated the efforts of EC and are enjoying one-liners. “Other than tall and false claims of political leaders, hoardings with such messages are a delight to see. Punch lines are indeed catchy and draws attention,” said Vimal Gupta, a government official. 
    To engage audiences across the spectrum, EC will also send these messages through SMSes and e-mails. The government website will have pop-up messages so that youngsters and urban population can be tapped there too. Interestingly, all one liners were written by officials of EC from Rajasthan without external help of any agency. Similar banners and hoardings have been displayed in other districts.

Election Commission hoardings at various places urge voters to come out and vote rather than criticizing and debating