National Voters’ Day - Why is it celebrated?

Voting is a powerful tool and invaluable right of a citizen to participate in the process of governance in a country, by exercising his/her choice through the process of universal adult franchise. Though our democracy has progressed, the importance of the power of a vote to usher in democracy is yet to reach every citizen of the country. Due to inhibition or hesitation and some peculiar reasons, voting rates have not been encouraging in different regions, thereby affecting the larger process of building a participatory democracy.

Election commission of India (ECI) has been taking various steps from time to time to address this trend.

In this article we shall be discussing various aspects of the  National Voters’ Day, its history. Further, this article covers other important dimensions, keeping in mind the demands of the preliminary as well as Main examination of the UPSC IAS Exam.

What is National Voters’ Day?

• Every Year since 2011,  25th January has been celebrated as National Voters’ Day.
• It marks the Foundation day of the Election Commission of India, which was established on this day in the year 1950. 
• The celebrations take place at over ten lakh locations across the country, including polling station areas, subdivisions, divisions, district and state headquarters.    
• Since the beginning, National Voter Day has been institutionalized as an annual feature to celebrate democracy and electoral participation in the country.
• The theme for the National Voters’ Day sets the tone for a stream of activities during the year.  

What is the Focus of the National Voters’ Day?

• The decadal journey of National Voters’ Day and Systematic Voter’s Education and Electoral Participation (SVEEP)- the flagship voter education programme of ECI, has focused on inclusion, strategies and action plans for enhancing participation from all categories of voters under ECI’s premise of ‘No Voter to be Left Behind’. 
• The main purpose of the National Voters’ Day celebration is to encourage, facilitate and maximize enrolment, especially for the new voters. 
• Dedicated to the voters of the country, the day is utilized to spread awareness among voters and for promoting informed participation in the electoral process.
• It is also meant to encourage, facilitate and maximize the enrolment, especially for the new voters. 

What is the Concept of  Voters’ Pledge?

Voter’s pledge is a step taken by authority to encourage collective participation, responsibility from the young voters through appeal.

•  It states- “We, the Citizens of India, having abiding faith in democracy, hereby pledge to uphold the democratic traditions of our country and the dignity of free, fair and peaceful elections, and to vote in every election fearlessly and without being influenced by considerations of religion, race, caste, community, language or any inducement.”

How is National Voters’ Day Celebrated?

This day is celebrated with many activities, centred around public awareness and participation.

• The 11th National Voters’ Day was celebrated across the country  on January 25, 2021 with the President of India Shri Ram Nath Kovind gracing the national level event held at New Delhi in a virtual, online mode.
• Due to  COVID-19, the National Voters’ Day celebrations all over the country becomes a combination of both physical and virtual events.
• The theme for National Voters’ Day 2021 was ‘Making Our Voters Empowered, Vigilant, Safe and Informed.’
• This reiterates the commitment of Election Commission of India (ECI) for conducting  COVID-safe elections, as well as to make each voter informed, ethical and vigilant.
• Two unique digital initiatives were unveiled. The Commission is rolling out Digital voter identity cards or e-EPICs which will be downloadable on mobile phones or in a self-printable form on the computer.
• Voters can  access this  through logging in from Voter Helpline Mobile App, Voter Portal or National Voters’ Service Portal.
• The Hon’ble President of India launched ‘Radio Hello Voters’ – a 24×7 online digital radio service that will stream voter awareness programmes accessible on the Election Commission of India website. 
• Radio Hello Voters has been envisaged to provide information on electoral processes through songs, drama, discussions, podcasts, spots, parodies etc. in Hindi, English and different regional languages from all over the country.
• While only newly enrolled electors with a unique mobile number could download the  e-EPIC, in the first leg, this facility was extended to all other electors from 1st February 2021 onwards.
• The President of India virtually conferred the National Awards for the Best Electoral Practices to Officers for their outstanding performance in the conduct of elections in different spheres.
• Government Departments and Media Houses were also awarded for their outstanding contribution in the field of voter awareness and outreach.
• According to the Election Commissioner Shri Sushil Chandra, one of the major focuses of the 11th National Voters’ Day was to enhance electoral participation, especially the new voters of the country and empower them as informed, ethical and vigilant voters.

Programs conducted as a part of the National Voters’ Day celebration

Three publications were released as a part of the celebration by the then Honourable union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad.

Conducting Election During Pandemic- A Photo Journey: 

• This photo book encapsulates the challenging journey of conducting elections amidst a pandemic.  
• The Commission successfully conducted several elections in the country, beginning with the Biennial Election to the Rajya Sabha.  
• This was followed by Legislative Assembly Elections in Bihar, one of the biggest such exercises throughout the world during the pandemic. Bye-Elections were also conducted for 60 constituencies in various states of the country.  

SVEEP Endeavours: Awareness initiatives during Lok Sabha Election, 2019

• This book provides a detailed insight into voter awareness interventions, innovations and initiatives during the 17th General Election, conducted in 2019. 
• This documented the spirit of ‘Desh Ka Mahatyohar’, the biggest festival of democracy celebrated across the nation cutting through the barriers of gender, caste, creed and religion.

Chalo Karen Matdaan

• It is a comic book which aims at voter education in a fun and thought-provoking way.
• Targeting young, new and future voters, this comic contains interesting and relatable characters to educate voters at large on electoral processes.

Conclusion

It is well recognized that the right to vote is not a simple one, people around the world have struggled a lot for this. Since independence, our Constitution has given equal voting rights to all citizens without any discrimination on the basis of merit, religion, race, caste. Right to vote is justifiably considered as paramount, for healthy functioning of democracy. It calls for responsibility from all citizens, especially the youth of our country, bestowed the right to vote for the first time, to exercise their franchise with the utmost sincerity and inspire others too to do so. 

Various initiatives taken by the Election Commission to spread the message of the National Voters’ Day cherish the value of our democracy, that is participatory and furthering our collective efforts to make the festival of democracy a smooth, inclusive, safe, free from any influence, for a stronger and vibrant democracy. That is what makes our elections sacrosanct and a model for others.

National Voters’ Day is a reiteration of our faith in the constitution, and its cherished values, gratitude to the founding fathers.This generation and beyond are and shall be  indebted to the makers of our Constitution, and  this debt can be only repaid when the citizens become truly aware of the power of a vote and exercise their right to vote diligently.

This article is relevant for the sections of Polity, Current Affairs part of the UPSC Syllabus prescribed for Preliminary and Main Stages of Civil Services Exam.

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