Dedicated Woman Uses Public Interactions to Promote Voter Participation in Kerala Election

Kottayam District Collector V Vigneshwari, who is also the District Election Officer for the Kottayam parliamentary constituency, pursued a distinctive mission on Thursday, rallying support for increased voter participation in the next days polls in Kerala.Tomorrow Friday is our voting day.

Kottayam District Collector V Vigneshwari, who is also the District Election Officer for the Kottayam parliamentary constituency, pursued a distinctive mission on Thursday, rallying support for increased voter participation in the next day's polls in Kerala.

''Tomorrow (Friday) is our voting day. Don't forget to come and cast your votes,'' Vigneshwari appealed to passengers in a bus parked at a private bus stand at Nagampadam here on Thursday.

Curious passengers stood up as the 2015-batch IAS officer boarded the bus, making an appeal for their participation in the poll process. They respectfully nodded positively, accepting a card pinned with a candy provided by the collector.

''Children, please tell your parents to cast their votes,'' she told children sitting on seats in the bus filled to capacity with passengers.

''What is in it (the card)?,'' she asked the children after giving it to them, and told them, ''Tell father, mother, and friends to vote for the person they want as their MP.'' She then proceeded towards the shops in the bus stand, making similar appeals.

''Have you reached voting age?,'' she asked a group of girl students waiting for their bus.

When they answered ''yes,'' she said, ''So, please don't forget to vote tomorrow. You all are the backbone of our democracy. You may be first-time voters. Please cast your votes.'' Later, talking to reporters, Vigneshwari said, ''This is the festival of democracy, and we are inviting all to participate in it. So, all of us should cast our votes, spending an hour of our time.'' She added: ''All votes are valuable. That is why we are individually impressing upon them the value of their votes,'' she said.

A district information officer said the district administration implemented the programme, whereby the district collector would urge voters to exercise their franchise, in collaboration with the Private Bus Owners Association.

A total of 194 contestants in 20 Lok Sabha seats are vying for voters' support as Kerala goes to the polls on Friday, after over a month-long fierce campaign by the CPI(M)-led ruling LDF, Congress-headed UDF, and the BJP-led NDA.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)