Young voters are representatives of new generation: Odisha Governor

The voting ratio should further increase, he said.In the function, the governor handed over voter identity cards to 20 new voters which included 3 members from PWD people with disability, 10 from TG Transgender and 5 from PVTG particularly vulnerable tribal group.Odishas Chief Electoral Officer NB Dhal said the ratio of new voters in the age group of 18 years to 19 years in the state is 2.28 per cent of the total electorates.

Odisha Governor Raghubar Das on Thursday said all including persons with disabilities, elderly and women should come forward and cast their votes in the elections being held every five years.

Das said this while addressing a function marking the observance of the 14th National Voters’ Day (NVD) here.

''The young voters are the representative of the new generation, that is going to build the new India and take the country to a new height in the coming 25 years,'' the Odisha governor said.

Stating that all those at or above 18 years should register their names in the voters list, the governor pointed out that around 17 crore people had cast their votes in the first general elections in 1951-52. The voting percentage then was 45 per cent.

However, in the 2019 elections, more than 90 crore people cast their votes and the voting percentage increased to 68 per cent. The voting ratio should further increase, he said.

In the function, the governor handed over voter identity cards to 20 new voters which included 3 members from PWD (people with disability), 10 from TG (Transgender) and 5 from PVTG (particularly vulnerable tribal group).

Odisha’s Chief Electoral Officer NB Dhal said the ratio of new voters in the age group of 18 years to 19 years in the state is 2.28 per cent of the total electorates. The number could roughly be around 7 lakhs, he said, adding that all including new voters should exercise their franchise.

Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik in a post on X said: ''Voting empowers citizens to give direction to governance and strengthen democracy. On #NationalVotersDay, urge all eligible voters to actively take part in the electoral process and cast their votes judiciously to shape the future of our state and country''.