Kolkata, April 17 (IANS) In an attempt to keep the Election Commission of India (ECI)’s spirit to encourage voters to cast their votes in large numbers in the forthcoming two-phase Assembly election in West Bengal, the office of the District Magistrate, also the District Electoral Officer (DEO), of Darjeeling district, held a unique “Voters’ Pledge” event in the hills on Friday.

The ECI posted pictures of that programme on its official social media handle with the caption — “Darjeeling Wakes Up with a Democracy Call”.

According to it, on a misty morning in the hills, a vibrant gathering of youth and senior citizens came together in the true spirit of voter participation at Chowrasta in Darjeeling.

“The Voter’s Pledge was administered, followed by an energetic walkathon, led by senior citizens and joined enthusiastically by the youth,” the ECI’s statement added.

Mascots of cartoon characters like “Chota Bheem” and “Chutki” added colours to the event and became part of the celebration, engaging with the crowd and spreading awareness.

“The message of peaceful and festive elections echoed loudly across the hills of Darjeeling. It’s your duty and responsibility. Let’s Vote !” the ECI’s statement read.

An insider from the office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), West Bengal, said that since the beginning of this election process, the Commission had been emphasising encouraging people to vote enthusiastically and in large numbers.

“The first is to ensure absolutely free and fair, and violence-free polls. So, the Commission has focused on making elaborate security arrangements well in advance this time to eliminate fears of intimidation from the minds of voters. At the same time, the Commission has arranged several unique and interactive programmes with common voters to spread awareness regarding the importance of their votes in democracy. The Darjeeling programme was a part of that initiative,” the CEO’s office insider said.

He added that another focus of the Commission this time is that not a single fake voter would remain in the voters’ list and no genuine voter would be deleted from the list, which was ensured through the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise.

–IANS

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