In an innovative attempt to motivate voters to exercise their franchise, officials in Bhopal have announced a lucky draw on the polling day.
Hoping to change the course of polling turnout after an unsatisfactory percentage in the first two phases, the officials have declared that they will be hosting a lucky draw on the voting day in Bhopal constituency.
The third phase of voting will see Bhopal go to polls on May 7 when those who cast their vote stand a chance to win diamond rings, refrigerators, televisions, and other goodies, as per a report in The Times of India.
With this move, election officials hope to incentivise voters to come out of their homes and head to the polling booths.
"On polling day, we will hold three lucky draws at every polling booth - at 10 am, 3 pm and 6 pm. One winner in each of these draws will win a prize. And then, a day or two after the election, we will hold a mega draw where big prizes will be distributed to the winners", the district election officer, collector Kaushlendra Vikram Singh, told TOI.
This move comes as a counter to the low voter turnout seen in Madhya Pradesh so far. On April 27, the six Lok Sabha constituencies in Madhya Pradesh that went to polls in the second phase of the Lok Sabha elections recorded a voter turnout of 58.59 per cent, according to data released by the Election Commission on Saturday.
"The voter turnout in the previous (2019) Lok Sabha elections was 67 per cent in these six seats", the state's Chief Electoral Officer Anupam Rajan said.
Rising heat might have impacted the voter turnout in these constituencies. Except for Khajuraho, which recorded 39 degrees Celsius on Friday, temperatures hovered over 40 degrees in the other five constituencies, he said.
As per the publication, the prizes and gifts are being collected under CSR. In total, there are reportedly 2,097 polling booths in Bhopal constituency, which suggests that over 6,000 gifts are expected to be distributed.
"So far we have received 35 items, including five diamond rings, a laptop, a refrigerator, eight dinner sets and two mobile phones. We are aiming to get two-wheelers. We are hopeful that there will be enough gifts", assistant nodal officer for Systematic Voter's Education and Electoral Participation (SVEEP) in Bhopal, Ritesh Sharma, told the publication.
On the polling day, a booth level officer accompanied by a volunteer will be deployed at the polling station to conduct the lottery.
After voters get inked, they will be required to write their name and phone number on a coupon booklet that the volunteers will provide them with, following which they can expect a call regarding collection of gifts.
"We will also felicitate the first voter in every booth", the assistant nodal officer added.
While the date for the post-poll draw has not yet been announced, it is likely to be May 9.
(With PTI inputs)
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