Civic body set to launch 'be a voter' campaign

Still not in the voters' list but wish to cast your ballot in the coming civic elections and have a say in how your city will be run?

Still not in the voters' list but wish to cast your ballot in the coming civic elections and have a say in how your city will be run?

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The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) plans to make things easy for you.

The civic body and the state election commission (SEC) will start a month-long 'Be a Voter' campaign from Saturday, to enlist voters for the BMC elections, scheduled in February 2012.

The BMC will open 800 centres across the city to encourage registration of voters.

They will be located in easily accessible places - for instance municipal premises or public places like railway stations and bus depots. Of the 800 centres, 500 will be in the suburbs and 300 in the island city.

Existing voters who wish to make changes in their ID cards will be able to do so at these centres as well. "The centres will be open from October 1 to November 1, including weekends and public holidays," said Aseem Gupta, additional municipal commissioner.

The civic body has also launched a toll-free SMS facility, which will inform you whether your name appears in the election rolls, and also which is the polling booth nearest to you.

Besides, over 10 help lines have been opened, on which you can call for queries related to voter ID cards or registration.

The number of voters registered in the last election, held in 2007, was 83.88 lakh.

It is estimated to have gone up to one crore this time, and is likely to increase further after the campaign.

In order to create awareness about the campaign, the BMC plans to enlist self-help groups (SHGs) and NGOs to conduct door-to-door drives.