Election Commission inaugurates electoral literacy club at DU college

An electoral literacy club was inaugurated at a college here Tuesday, with a senior Election Commission official saying the club will serve as an "institutional vehicle" for strengthening democracy.

The Electoral Literacy Club (ELC) was opened at Delhi University's Jesus and Mary College by Delhi's Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Vijay Dev.

"The ELC will be an institutional vehicle for making the youth participate in the electoral process of the country, and strengthening our democracy," Dev said.

The Election Commission has been conducting a number of events to draw first-time voters for enrolment.

The commission has also launched new jingles on radio and another electronic medium to encourage eligible voters to get enrolled.

Incidentally, Delhi's draft electoral roll published September 1 had shown a dip of over 1.4 lakh in the total number of electors in the city, compared to the draft list of last year, with authorities attributing death and migration of voters as the main reasons behind the fall in numbers.

The total number of voters in Delhi stands at 1,36,15,776 in the draft roll and there is a decrease in the number of both male and female voters vis-a-vis the one published on October 23, 2017.

With the release of the draft electoral roll, the Election Commission had also begun the process to induct new voters into the electoral list who have either turned 18 or will complete that age by January 1 next year, officials said.

The number of males, female and third gender electors are 75,20,824; 60,94,115 and 837 respectively, according to the latest draft roll.

Final electoral rolls would be published on January 4.

(With inputs from agencies.)