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To create awareness among the people about their voting right in the wake of the Lok Sabha Elections-2024 (LSE) and Assembly bye-elections, Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Maneesh Garg flagged off 414 kms-long cycling expedition to world’s highest polling station Tashigang in Himachal Pradesh.
Flagging off the expedition from the historic Ridge on Tuesday, Garg said the expedition, starting from Shimla, will culminate at world’s highest polling station located at Tashigang (15256 feet) on May 20.
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The CEO further said that this seven-day cycling expedition will create awareness among voters especially among first time voters.
“Six people are participating in the cycling rally. Among them, state election icon Jaspreet Paul and his team member Kshitij will go from Shimla to Tashigang, while the other four cyclists will be part of this expedition till Narkanda. This expedition will go to Tashigang enroute Theog, Narkanda, Rampur, Rekong Peo, Nako, Kaza, Kaumik, Hikkim,” he said.
The expedition will also pay tributes to the First Voter of India Late Shyam Saran Negi on May 16 at Kalpa, he added.
The CEO said the main objective of this event was to ensure participation of maximum people in this election.
In view of the Lok Sabha elections and bye-elections in the six ACs in the state, participation of all the eligible voters was very important, he said.
Garg said the distance between Shimla to Kaza is 414 kilometers which also coincides with Election Department’s Mission 414 Systemnatic Voters’ Education and Electoral Participation (SVEEP) initiative.
This mission is aimed at increasing voting percentage at 414 polling stations, where the voting percentage was low in LSE-2019, he informed.
He said this time nearly three percent of total voters in the electoral rolls would exercise their franchise for the first time and this expedition would go a long way in engaging and sensitizing the youth about their right to vote.
The CEO said that the Election Department was organising various types of events from time to time with the aim of making people aware about voting.
“In this series, a plan has been prepared to organise cycling rallies in nine districts on 25 and 26 May. Participation of maximum youth will be ensured in these rallies so that the voting percentage could be increased,” said Garg.
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