Awareness: Kolkata North DEO launches ‘Election Tram Car’
As part of its ongoing SVEEP (Systematic Voters’ Education and Electoral Participation) activities, the office of Kolkata North DEO (District Electoral Office) on Monday launched an ‘Election Tram Car’ to create awareness among voters to cast their franchise. The nomination process for the sixth phase of Lok Sabha elections to be held on May 25, including six constituencies from Bengal, also commenced on Monday, an official said.
Tamluk, Kanthi, Ghatal, Jhargram (ST), Medinipur, Purulia, Bankura, and Bishnupur (SC) will vote in this phase, the official added. The deadline for applications is May 4, with nominations closing on May 6, followed by scrutiny on May 7, the official said. The list of candidates will be published on May 9, he added. The tram that will travel in the Esplanade-Shyambazar route for 6 days (April 30 to May 5) was flagged off by state Chief Electoral Officer Aariz Aftab in presence of Kolkata Police Commissioner Vineet
Goyal, state Transport secretary Saumitra Mohan, DEO Kolkata North Shubhanjan Das, among others, from the Esplanade depot. “Voting in the first two phases has been encouraging considering the heatwave conditions prevailing across the state. In fact, during the first phase, Bengal saw the second highest voting percentage in the entire country. In case of voting in Kolkata, overcoming urban apathy is a major challenge. We are trying our best to ensure maximum voting in the city,” Aftab said.
State transport secretary Saumitra Mohan said that the poll panel is providing facilities such as water, first aid boxes etc. in polling booths for facilitating voters during the summer. There are seven Assembly constituencies under North Kolkata Parliamentary constituency — Chowrangee, Entally, Beliaghata, Shyampukur, Jorasanko, Maniktala and Cossipore- Belgachia — with the total number of polling stations being 1869. The total number of voters as per the electoral roll published on January 22 is 15,01,779.
The total number of 80 + electors are 36486, the total new electors are 6977 while the number of PWD (Persons with Disabilities) electors are 3174. North Kolkata has a history of lower voter turnout due to one-fifth of the population being migrant workers. In the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, there was 65.76 per cent voting while in the 2021 Assembly elections (held amid Covid), the percentage was 59.46.