Srinagar, Aug 31: Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Pandurang K Pole Saturday said that all the preparations for the elections have been completed and that he was expecting large participation of youth and others in the democratic process.
“Elections belong to everyone, be it tribals or urban, youth or women, elderly or first-time voters. It is a festival of democracy. All arrangements are in place and election teams are on their way to their polling booths,” he said
Pole said that campaigning will pick up now as the date of filing nomination papers and withdrawal of papers is over. “We urge people to participate in large numbers. We will ensure free and fair polls,” he said while talking to reporters on the sidelines of a function at Altaf Memorial College Kilam, Kulgam district
Earlier, with a mission to boost the maximum participation of electorates in the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly Elections, the Chief Electoral Office (CEO) J&K on Saturday conducted a conference of UT/Districts ICONS through Online Mode.
The conference was held under the chairmanship of Additional Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), J&K, Rahul Sharma at Nirvachan Bhawan, Jammu, in the presence of Akther Hussain Qazi, Nodal Officer SVEEP and Sapna Kotwal, Nodal Officer for Media.
The UT ICONS and influencers along with District Level Social Media ICONS coming from various fields of achievements including singing, music, sports, literature, technology, social work, and others participated in the conference virtually.
The conference aimed to create awareness among the masses in connection with the upcoming J&K Assembly Elections 2024 to be held in 3 phases across the 90 Assembly Constituencies commencing from 18 September 2024 especially those who are first-time voters.
During the conference, the UT ICONS were urged to educate and influence the voters to participate in the biggest democratic exercise of the J&K UT by using their skills and experience.
Additional Chief Electoral Officer, Rahul Sharma exhorted the ICONS to target Young Voters, PwDs, Tribals, slum dwellers, women, weaker sections, and old age voters to ensure their maximum participation in the elections.
On the occasion, Nodal Officer SVEEP gave some tips to the participants in creating video and audio messages for the masses and their publicity over social platforms.
The messages should be completely neutral to achieve the target and not favor or disregard any political party or candidate, he maintained.
The UT ICONS who attended this conference included S. Chandeep Singh, Sandhya Dhar, Ankush Sabharwal, Shivani Arora, Zoddi, Imran Khan, Shwetima Jamwal, Sargam Koushal, Parvez Rasool, Faisal Ali Dar, Sonali Dogra, Mahfooz Elahi, Kabul Bukhari, Nazir Ahmed Lone, Bilkis Maqbool, Ashok Hans, Shazia Bashir, Aabha Hanjura and Sadia Tariq.
