Maha polls: College students do their bit to up voter turnout

Amid the campaigning, college students are taking up various drives, under the Systematic Voters’ Education and Electoral Participation (SVEEP) programme of the

Amid the campaigning, college students are taking up various drives, under the Systematic Voters’ Education and Electoral Participation (SVEEP) programme of the Election Commission of India, to get citizens to vote on October 21.

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“The motive is to educate people about how the election process works. It begins with explaining why each vote counts. It is the biggest challenge as many think that their vote doesn’t matter,” said Anjali Pal, student coordinator for the National Service Scheme (NSS) of RD National College, Bandra. “We hope that our efforts help in improving the voter turnout. Street plays and songs work the best. So we write, practice and perform plays and songs at public places. We also hold rallies,” said Pal, a BSc second year student.

Satyakam Mestry, a former BMC official and an active campaigner for elections, said students from at least 11 colleges are holding rallies in Bandra alone.

“With the help of election officers, these students have learnt about how to cast a vote on an EVM machine and how votes are counted. They then spread the word in their community,” said Mestry.