EC raps collectorate for dismal first-time voter registration

THANE: The state election commission (EC) has directed the city administration to ensure more first-time voters participate in the election process.
Irked by the low enrolment of young voters in Thane, the state EC has passed instructions that it wants three lakh more fresh voters in Thane to be enlisted in the 18-19 age category before the next Assembly and Loksabha polls later this year.
The current count in this category in the entire district is a paltry 65,000, possibly one of the lowest in the state even in percentage terms.
The Thane election officers have now decided to embark on a special drive to encourage first-time voters to exercise their franchise. To make sure youth participates in the voting process, college principals will be approached for help. The district collector will look to tap youth through social media, mobile applications to help first-time voters to register their names on the roll.
"The EC patted us on the back for the efforts so far, but wants more enrolment in the 18-19 age category. We plan to approach college principals to chalk out a campaign with their help. We will soon have a special campaign for this," said Thane collector (Thane) P Velrasu.
The EC also pointed out that while applying online, young voters often find it tedious to get information such as name of the constituency and sub-division, which they don't seem to be aware of. This process must be simplified and made easy by the local administration through use of social media and internet, the EC officials pointed out.
In a meeting with the district administration on Monday, the state EC lauded the authorities for its efforts in pruning of electoral rolls and adding genuine voters to make it 'healthier'.
In the past one year, the Thane election officers managed to weed out 6.5 lakh bogus voters, collected photo identification for 12 lakh voters, taking the percentage of voters with photo ID to 73% from the previous 58%, one of the lowest count in the state and possibly the entire country. Thane district has a registered roll of nearly 70 lakh voters but many of them so far did not have photo identification, and were duplicated.
"The problem with Thane has been its large floating population. Because of this we have been last in the photo identification drive in whole of Maharashtra and the country. But things have improved in the past one year, and the roll looks much healthier now," said Velrasu.
The enrolment drive in Thane will end once the comprehensive revision of the electoral rolls is complete. After that, the EC will prepare a draft publication and make it public on the commission website.
Large floating population is the problem in Thane. Because of this we have been last in the photo identification drive in whole of Maharashtra and the country. But things have improved in the past one year and the roll looks much healthier now