The Election Commission is going all out to draw people to voting centres.
In Kolkata, political parties aren’t the only ones working overtime to woo voters. The Election Commission, too, is braving the heat with innovative campaigns to encourage people to vote during the six-phase assembly elections which begin tomorrow and end on May 10.
This time round, EC has hired tongas, or horse-drawn carriages, to reach out to voters in south Kolkata. “Tongas are integrally associated with the history of Kolkata and we have received an overwhelming response for this concept,” says Tapan Som, district electoral officer (south Kolkata). Tongas were once the private conveyance of British sahibs and Bengali bhadraloks (the class of Bengali elite which emerged during colonial times). “We chose tongas over other vehicles because we knew these would be bigger crowd-pullers. Whenever our tongas go to a locality, a large number of people come to see what they’re about,” says Som.
Each tonga has one electronic voting machine (EVM) and two officers who give a demonstration on how to use the machine. “We hire a tonga for Rs 1,500 per day for five hours. During this period the tongas travel to many localities in south Kolkata,” says Som. “The percentage of voting in the city during the previous elections was only 65 to 70 per cent as compared to 80 per cent in rural Bengal.” The Election Commission hopes the rigorous promotional campaign in the city will bring a larger number of people to voting centres.
Besides the tonga campaign, the Election Commission is sending out 16 election-related messages aimed at generating awareness among voters. These messages will be aired on nine FM radio channels 16 times a day during peak hours for 25 days till May 9. “We also have percussionist Vikram Ghosh as our brand ambassador and have composed a 30-second spot to be broadcast on all prominent private television channels during peak hours,” says Dibyendu Sarkar, joint chief electoral officer. Apart from this, the Election Commission has created a cartoon character, Anandababu, whose pictures have been put up on 25 billboards across the city with messages urging people to vote. About 15 photographs of Ghosh have also been installed at various locations to draw voters. “But our detailed campaign remains through the print media,” says Sarkar.
Officers of the Election Commission are also actively participating in talk shows on television and FM radio channels to inform voters and to encourage them to vote fearless. In all, the Election Commission is spending Rs 1 crore on these promotional activities. Of this, Rs 18 lakh is for advertising on FM radio and Rs 30 lakh for television campaigns. All India Radio is airing election-related programmes for free, while Doordarshan is charging Rs 8 lakh for Ghosh’s spot. Other election-related information on DD is being broadcast free of cost.
A helpline (dial 1965) has also been set up where voters can call with queries or to register their complaints. “This helpline is a major tool by which we can directly respond to the caller’s grievances and ensure speedy action by communicating the matter to our officials in that particular area,” says Sarkar.