Please vote, Assam students appeal to parents through postcards

April 09, 2024 08:57 pm | Updated 08:57 pm IST - GUWAHATI

GUWAHATI More than one lakh students from central Assam’s Kamrup district participated in a postcard campaign on Tuesday to motivate their parents to vote in the Lok Sabha election.

The district falls within the Guwahati Lok Sabha constituency, which goes to the polls in the third phase on May 7.

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The campaign, titled ‘Ma-deutaloi votdanor ahbaan’ (appeal to parents to vote), was organised by the Kamrup election district as part of the Systematic Voters’ Education and Electoral Participation (SVEEP) initiative. The primary objective was to achieve a 100% voter turnout for the parliamentary elections, officials said.

More than one lakh students from classes VIII to XI from 526 educational institutions across the district penned their feelings, requesting their parents to cast their ballot for a more participative democracy and a better future for them.

“As adults, we are answerable to our future generations on the state of the nation we leave them as inheritance. The idea behind the campaign was to encourage voter participation and fortify the democratic fabric,” said Keerthi Jalli, the Kamrup District Commissioner and District Election Officer.

“Parents and grandparents of our students constitute 90% of our voter population. We intend to touch at least seven lakh people by targeting one lakh households,” said the District Development Commissioner and head of the SVEEP cell, Susanta Kumar Dutta. “The remaining 10% are youth voters who are being targeted more creatively,” he said.

Selfies with parents

The campaign encouraged the students to choose an art form to express their appeal on the postcards of the Indian Postal Department stamped with the district’s election mascot featuring Kamrupa and Luit (black softshell turtle).

These letters will be posted to the individual residences. The students have been asked to upload selfies with their parents and the postcards within 15 days – in time for voting on May 7.