Fair elections and voter participation are the foundation of democracy: Governor Shri Patel
Bhopal: Governor Mangubhai Patel said that free and fair election system and participation of voters is the basic foundation of democracy. The work being done by the Election Commission in this direction is commendable. He said that the commission should make special efforts to increase voting percentage by identifying centers with low voting. Governor Patel was addressing the 15th National Voter’s Day program in Kushabhau Thackeray Auditorium on Saturday. He administered the Voter’s Day oath to the citizens present in the program.
Governor Patel rewarded officers and employees of all levels who performed excellent work in the election process and the winners of various competitions organized by the Commission. EPIC cards were also distributed to new voters. The Governor inaugurated the photo exhibition organized by the Commission. A video message of Chief Election Commissioner of Election Commission of India Rajiv Kumar was also broadcast in the program.
Governor Patel said that in 52 districts of the state, the registration of women has been more than that of men. This is a symbol of the growing strength of the inclusive form of democracy. The commission should identify such polling booths where less voting has been taking place in the past several elections. Go to such polling booths and understand the reasons. Talk to the people there. Inform them about the importance of voting rights in democracy and make special innovations to increase the voting percentage.
Governor Patel appreciated the Commission’s effective use of information technology for resolving 99.9 percent of the applications received in the Summary Revision Program-2025 online. Governor Patel described it as a proof of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Digital India efforts and foresight and expressed his gratitude to him. He described the enthusiastic participation of the state’s voters, especially women and Divyang voters, in the Lok Sabha elections 2024 as unprecedented. He also congratulated all the people of the state, voters and the entire team of the Election Commission for their efforts to strengthen democracy.
Every eligible voter must participate in the electoral process
Governor Patel said that for a free and fair election process, it is necessary to have a pure and complete voter list. Only then will the voters be able to contribute in the election process. Therefore, every eligible voter should participate in the election process. Use the right to vote with fairness and fearlessness. He said that this is not only the duty and responsibility of the Commission but also of all of us as citizens of the country.
Governor Patel said that the commission should alert the voters to use their right to vote by rising above the misconceptions and discrimination related to the caste, religion, language or region of the candidates. The voters should be told that the rights given by our constitution will be meaningful only when we perform our duties and elect capable and ethical candidates. Only then will our country move towards becoming a developed nation. The voters will also be proud of their progress.
Officers honored for Lok Sabha elections and voter revision
Governor Mangubhai Patel felicitated Collector and District Election Officer Jhabua Smt. Neha Meena, Collector and District Election Officer Ratlam Rajesh Batham, Collector and District Election Officer Ashoknagar Subhash Kumar Dwivedi for successfully conducting Lok Sabha Elections 2024. Bhopal Collector and District Election Officer Kaushalendra Vikram Singh, Gwalior Collector and District Election Officer Smt. Ruchika Chauhan were also felicitated for innovation and excellent work in the SVEEP activities of Lok Sabha Elections-2024. Similarly, Shivpuri Collector and District Election Officer Ravindra Kumar Chaudhary and Superintendent of Police Aman Singh Rathore, the then Collector and District Election Officer of Sheopur Lokesh Kumar Jangid and Superintendent of Police Abhishek Anand, Bhind Collector and District Election Officer Sanjeev Srivastava and Superintendent of Police Asit Yadav were felicitated for excellent law and order in Lok Sabha Elections-2024. Inspector General of Police, Law and Order and Security and State Police Nodal Officer Anshuman Singh was also felicitated for excellent work in maintaining law and order at the state level in conducting Lok Sabha Elections 2024.
Similarly, for excellent work in SVEEP activities, the then Additional Director General of Police of Shahdol Zone, Mr. D.C. Sagar and the Collector and District Election Officer of Narmadapuram, Ms. Sonia Meena were honoured with the Special Category Award for IT Initiative and SVEEP activities.
Collector and District Election Officer of Alirajpur, Mr. Abhay Arvind Bedekar and Deputy District Election Officer Ms. Priyanshi Bhanwar, Collector and District Election Officer of Raisen, Mr. Arvind Dubey and Deputy District Election Officer, Mr. Manish Sharma, Collector and District Election Officer of Datia, Mr. Sandeep Kumar Makin and Deputy District Election Officer, Mrs. Bhumija Saxena were honored for their excellent work in Special Summary Revision 2025.
Among the Electoral and Assistant Registration Officers who performed excellent work in the Special Summary Revision 2025, Electoral Registration Officer Mr. Saurabh Mishra and Assistant Electoral Registration Officer Mr. Bharat Singh Mandle of Raisen Silwani, Electoral Registration Officer Mr. Santosh Tiwari and Assistant Electoral Registration Officer Mr. Sunil Prabhas of Datia Bhander, Electoral Registration Officer Mr. Ajay Sharma and Assistant Electoral Registration Officer Ms. Kalpana Sharma of Shivpuri Karera were honored.
Similarly, the BLOs who performed excellent work in the Special Summary Revision 2025 were Mr. Ghanshyam Chauhan of polling station number 177-Chhachhkuan District Dhar, Mr. Tola Ram Ninama of polling station number 43-Ma.Vidyalaya Somarundi Kala District Ratlam, Mr. Arun Kumar Panika of polling station number 223-Sidhikhurd District Singrauli, Mr. Dharmendra Kumar Tiwari of polling station number 326-Kushmhan Kala District Umaria, Mr. Jayant Kumar Vishwakarma of polling station number 183-Ambedkar Ward District Sagar, Mr. Manish Keer of polling station number 135-Bhojpur District Raisen, Mrs. Seema Soni of polling station number 81-Harda District Harda and Mr. Manish Jain of polling station number 167-Dixitpura District Jabalpur.
Deputy District Election Officer Mr. Rajesh Yadav, Section Officer Mrs. Anukriti Mishra, Assistant Section Officer Mrs. Sujata Chincholkar, Assistant Programmer Mr. Pravas Jain and Programmer Mr. Vinay Deshmukh of the Office of the Chief Electoral Officer were honored for their excellent work in the Lok Sabha Elections 2024 Summary Revision 2025.
Essay competition winners honored
Governor Patel gave the first prize to Rajneesh Tripathi of Government Holkar Science College, Indore, selected in the essay competition organized on the topic “Nothing like vote, we will definitely vote” at the district level on the occasion of 15th National Voters’ Day, second prize to Ms. Srishti Tiwari of Government Sanjay Gandhi Memorial College, Ganjbasoda Vidisha and third prize to Mayank Vishwakarma of Prime Minister College of Excellence, Government Autonomous Post Graduate College, Chhindwara.
Governor Patel distributed EPIC cards to new voters Kushagre Sen, Abhilasha Kesariya, Akriti Luitel, Rishi vastava and Gaurav Jat.
Chief Electoral Officer Mr. Sukhvir Singh welcomed Governor Mr. Patel with a bouquet of flowers, presented a shawl and a memento. Mr. Singh also gave detailed information about the Lok Sabha elections 2024 and the Voter Revision Program 2025.
Collector Bhopal Kaushendra Vikram Singh expressed his gratitude. Secretary of State Election Commission Mr. Abhishek Singh, Bhopal Division Commissioner Mr. Sanjeev Singh, Additional Chief Electoral Officer Mr. Rajesh Kaul, State Icon Mr. Rajiv Verma, Mr. Govind Namdev, Mrs. Divyanka Tripathi Dahiya, Ms. Sanjana Singh and Ms. Deshna Jain were present on the stage in the program.
