THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Free Uber rides, halwa and rice flour at Re 1 may sound like an advertisement to attract customers to a store, but are actually initiatives by the EC to turn the exercise of casting vote into a celebration rather than a tedious activity
The extensive measures to attract young voters to polling booths also include possible discounts by coffee houses like Starbucks and Cafe Coffee Day, positive messages by food and grocery delivery services like Blinkit, Swiggy, Zomato and Domino’s, as well as the use of
AI-videos, reels, competitions and a ‘gen-z anthem’ that was recently launched by Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
“Everybody wants to do something, so we will see how they come out with their innovative ways. If they come and do something, that is good. A positive message will come out and it might have an effect,” Kerala Chief Electoral Officer Rathan U Kelkar said.
Kelkar said that voters in the 18-30 age group number around 50 lakh in Kerala, but this significant electorate is not very interested in elections and don’t show up to vote even if their names are in the electoral roll.
In order to remedy this trend, the EC chose multiple ways to create awareness among the youth about their rights and the importance of a vote “as most people feel one vote would not make a difference”, the Kerala CEO said.
“We are trying to motivate them by various means, like giving halwa to first-time voters in every district on polling day. The intention is to sweeten their civic journey so that they feel happy about taking the first step as they enter the area of democracy,” he said.