In a unique initiative, the election commission of Gautam Buddh Nagar is enlisting the support of children and teenagers to get parents to vote.
There’s a good possibility that many will try to bunk voting, as Phase I has been scheduled for February 11, the second Saturday of the month, and a holiday for many.
NP Singh, the returning officer of Gautam Buddh Nagar, who has been campaigning to sensitise voters in the district, has already started distributing forms among schoolchildren, which they need to get signed from their parents. In it, the parents will have to give a written assurance that they will come out to vote on the scheduled date.
Singh said schoolchildren will play an important role this time, as they are quick to grasp the significance of the task.
He added that residents’ participation in the polls was a must, even if they did not like any of the candidates. He said, “If they don’t like the candidates, they can always opt for NOTA, or the "None Of the Above" option. If a winning candidate gets fewer number of votes than NOTA, it will force the parliamentarians to think about the condition of politics in the country — how more and more people have become disenchanted with the process. But people must vote first.”
