11th National Voters’ Day, 2021 observed in Cachar

Jan. 25: On the occasion of National Voters’ Day, a symposium was held at the Zilla Parishad auditorium, Silchar which was organized by the District Election Office, Cachar on Monday. The programme was chaired by District Development Commissioner Jessica Lalsim.

The symposium entitled “Participation of Youth Voters & PwD Voters for a Stronger Democracy” was attended by people from various walks of life. Expressing his views on the topic, Prof. Joydeep Biswas of Cachar College, Silchar said that the need for a strong democracy is the participation of maximum number of voters in the process. He stressed on the issue of inclusive democracy. ”

Drawing an analogy with American voting system, Prof. Biswas said, “The participation of minimum voters in the electoral process resulted in the victory of Donald Trump in the USA and the last 4 years under his regime requires no vivid description as all knows what happened after his victory. As such, the need of the hour in our nation is the participation of mainly the youth in the voting process for a strong and vibrant democracy.”

In his speech,  Arijit Aditya, Editor of Bartalipi said, “In 2019, almost 50 percent of differently abled persons refrained from casting their votes. So this is an alarming aspect. Since then, the government along with the Election Commission has been trying to create an environment conducive for such persons to come forward and exercise their franchise in last numbers.” He also highlighted the fact that in Cachar district alone, there are 30,000 new voters who will cast their votes in the forthcoming assembly polls. He urged upon the new voters to come forward without any fear and elect good candidates.

Some new voters were also felicitated during the occasion. They are Manik Uddin Barbhuiya, Sumit Goala, Romana Yakub Barbhuiya and Puja Paul. They were given certificates and Uttoriya.

Earlier, an oath was read as regards participation in the election process in an unbiased way by all present in the auditorium. Election Officer Nabanita Hazarika upholded the objective of celebrating the National Voters Day in a befitting manner. She said, “Our motto should be- No Voters to be left behind. ”

In her speech, DDC Jessica Lalsim congratulated the new voters. She urged upon them to come forward and exercise their franchise with immense responsibility. The programme was also attended by ADC Sumit Sattawan and Dr Khaleda Sultana Ahmed. The programme was compered by Debanjan Mukherjee.