BHUBANESWAR: Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Surendra Kumar has shortlisted the names of six personalities from Odisha who will be appointed as ‘State icons’ to spread awareness among voters and conduct sensitisation drives for the ensuing Assembly and Lok Sabha Elections.
They are sprinter Dutee Chand, para athlete Jayanti Behera, para shuttler Pramod Bhagat, singer Rituraj Mohanty and cine artistes Sivani Sangita and Swaraj. The six have been shortlisted under Systematic Voter’s Education and Electoral Participation (SVEEP) programme. The CEO has sent the list of these ‘State icons’ to the Election Commission of India for approval. “These icons will be involved in voter awareness programmes to encourage young and new voters to cast their ballot in the upcoming elections,” Kumar said after a meeting of the State level SVEEP committee here on Monday.
The State level SVEEP committee has been formed to monitor various voters awareness campaigns in Odisha. “As a special measure, we will soon come up with television programmes and radio jingles on voters’ awareness in Desia, Sambalpuri and Santali languages. Artistes and theatre groups working at district and block levels will also be roped in for sensitisation drives,” he said.
In a bid to encourage voters to exercise their franchise in the elections, the Election Commission has formed SVEEP committees at district level as well as at 2,908 schools and 665 colleges across the State. It has also set up 21,365 ‘Chunav Pathshalas’ across Odisha to educate people about functioning of VVPATs and EVMs.
Kumar said as part of the voter awareness campaign, mock polling are being conducted across the State. While the first round of mock polling, which started in January, is over, the second round is continuing. “If required, we will conduct another round of mock polling in the State,” he added.