SRINAGAR: Divisional Commissioner (Div Com) Kashmir, Vijay Kumar Bidhuri, on Thursday encouraged citizens to vote in the upcoming elections for a vibrant and healthy democracy.
The Div Com was addressing a National Voters Day function organised by the Chief Electoral Office Srinagar at Govt College of Education, MA Road, Srinagar.
Giving a brief history of the election process, Bidhuri mentioned that during the pre-democracy period, the power struggle was never peaceful. However, he expressed pride in the fact that India is the largest democracy globally. He emphasized that the election process promotes a smooth transition of power in a democratic country.
Commenting on this year’s theme of ‘National Voters Day’, which is ‘Nothing Like Voting, I vote for sure’, he encouraged all participants to exercise their democratic right by voting in the upcoming elections.
Bidhuri highlighted various developmental achievements, including projects completed across the city such as SSCL Projects and the successful hosting of the G20 Summit and religious festivals.
He also discussed the significance of Republic Day celebrations and invited everyone to the main R-Day function at Bakshi Stadium, requesting participants to be seated before 9:00 am. He reiterated that I-cards would serve as entry passes.
Speaking at the event, Deputy Commissioner Srinagar, Dr Bilal Mohid ud Din, stressed the importance of voting in elections and urged the registration of new eligible voters. He emphasised that the right to vote is based on equality and was envisioned during the framing of the constitution and discussed the struggles for voting rights globally and encouraged active participation in the voting process for a healthy democracy.
The program featured a video message from the Chief Election Commissioner of India and the Kashmiri version of an IEC video message from the Election Department.
During the event, the Div Com administered the Voters Pledge and distributed EPICS to newly registered electors and appreciation certificates to officials and BLOs.
Earlier, the SDM reported that 17 thousand new electors were added during the current phase of registration for the electoral process.
The program was attended by the Principal of Govt College of Education, ACR Srinagar, BLOs, new eligible voters, and students—(KNO).
