Lok Sabha Elections: EC's Focus on Vulnerable Tribal Groups Yielding Positive Results

Election Commission efforts have led to increased PVTG participation in Lok Sabha elections. The Shompen tribe voted for the first time in a parliamentary poll. India has 75 PVTG groups, comprising 8.6% of the tribal population. The EC set up booths in inaccessible areas, resulting in large-scale PVTG inclusion. Special efforts by Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar emphasized PVTG participation, leading to 100% enrolment in 11 state Assembly polls.

The Election Commission said on Wednesday its efforts over the last two years to include the Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTG) in the electoral process have started showing results.

The poll panel said members from these communities participated enthusiastically in voting in the first two phases of the ongoing Lok Sabha election and pointed out that the Shompen tribe of Great Nicobar voted for the first time in a parliamentary election.

India has 8.6 per cent tribal population, including 75 groups that come under the PVTG category.

Setting up polling booths in previously-inaccessible areas has led to a large-scale inclusion of the PVTGs, the EC said in a statement.

In the last 11 state Assembly polls, there were around nine lakh eligible voters from 14 PVTGs. ''The commission's special efforts ensured 100 per cent enrolment of PVTGs in those states,'' the poll authority said.

In the last two years since he took over as the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC), Rajiv Kumar has been emphasising on a greater participation of the PVTGs in the electoral process, an EC official said.

Kumar has personally directed the state chief electoral officers and district election officers concerned to make sure that special campaigns and registration drives are launched to register the PVTGs in the electoral rolls as a first step for their inclusion, the official pointed out.

During a special summary revision to update the electoral rolls, special outreach camps were held across specific states with a PVTG population.

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