To boost turnout, Moga admn focuses on NRI electors

DISTRICT HAS 7.6 LAKH VOTERS OF WHICH AROUND 40,000 ARE LIVING ABROAD

With 5.2% registered voters in four assembly segments of Moga district living abroad, the administration is prioritising the engagement of non-resident Indians (NRIs) and new voters to boost voter turnout in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections to be held in the last phase on June 1 in Punjab.

Spreading across four districts — Faridkot, Moga, Muktsar and Bathinda — the Faridkot Lok Sabha seat includes all four and three assembly constituencies of Moga and Faridkot districts, respectively. Gidderbaha of Muktsar and Rampura Phul of Bathinda are also part of this Faridkot parliamentary constituency.

According to official figures, 7.6 lakh voters have been registered in Moga district till now. Of these, around 40,000 (5.2%) are living abroad.

The district administration is actively reaching out to NRIs to encourage them to participate in the voting process. Block-level officers are contacting families of those living abroad and people who do not vote despite being registered voters. An election commission official said despite a large number of NRIs, only 37 persons are registered as NRI voters in Moga district. “Most of the people living abroad do not update their status in the voter lists. The election commission has a provision for NRIs to enlist as overseas electors. They need to fill form-6A, an application for inclusion of name in the electoral roll by an overseas elector. Apart from other declarations, they need to declare that they are citizen of India by birth, domicile or naturalisation and they have not acquired citizenship of any other country,” the official added.

Moga deputy commissioner Kulwant Singh said special efforts are being made to register NRIs and new voters. He said Moga district has a significant NRI population, with approximately 40,000 residents living abroad. “Unfortunately, many of them do not exercise their right to vote, contributing to the lower turnout in Moga compared to other districts. A voter awareness event was conducted at the girls’ college in Sukhanand village on Thursday. Surprisingly, at least one member of the family of around 350 persons, who attended the event, is living abroad,” he said. “We will make efforts to register new and NRI voters. There are special provisions through which NRIs can register themselves as voters,” he said.