Port Blair, Jan 19: The 12th ‘National Voters’ Day’ will be celebrated befittingly in A&N Islands on January 25, 2022 together with the rest of the country as per the instructions of the Election Commission of India. In this connection, a meeting was held under the Chairmanship of the Chief Electoral Officer, A&N Islands, Shri Binay Bhushan in the Mini Conference Hall of the Secretariat to discuss and finalize various activities to be carried out with the ensuing ‘National Voters’ Day’ celebrations in Isles.

At the outset, the CEO informed about the theme for this year’s NVD celebrations i.e - 'Making Elections Inclusive, Accessible and Participative’. He further stated that as per the instructions of the ECI, the ‘National Voters’ Day’ (NVD) will be celebrated keeping in mind the COVID appropriate behaviour and guidelines in place. All efforts will be made to celebrate the festival in online mode, the CEO said.

Mentioning that voters play significant role in strengthening democracy, the CEO said that NVD pledge will be administered to all the people during the ‘National Voters Day’ celebrations through online mode without fail. Various Departments/ Organizations/ Bodies will be encouraged to administer NVD pledge on the National Voters' Day, and the same can be uploaded on their social media handles/ website using hashtag #NVD2022, for which the copy of the pledge will also be circulated over Whatsapp groups.

The CEO stated that due to surge in COVID cases and the consequent restrictions imposed in social gatherings in A&N Islands, social media platforms will be used extensively to reach out to the voters to create maximum awareness regarding NVD celebrations and its importance. Apart from this, the NVD theme & related messages in the form of posters and banners will also be prominently displayed in the offices of the CEO, DEO, AERO.  

The DEO, N&M Andaman and the AEROs of different Islands interacted with the CEO and informed about the activities chalked out by them to celebrate the NVD-2022 keeping in mind the COVID appropriate behaviour and guidelines in place.

It is to mention that the total electors in A&N Islands as per final roll as on 05-01-22 w.r.t 1.1.2022 as the qualifying date is 3,11,650, out of which, 1,63,368 are male and 148271 are female while the number of third gender is 11. In South Andaman District, the number of total electors are 2,05,960, out of which, 1,08,631 are male and 97,318 are female while the number of third gender is 11. Similarly, In North & Middle Andaman District, the total number of electors are 79,617, out of which, 41,207 are male and 38,410 are female. In Nicobar District, the total number of elector is 26,073, out of which, 13,530 are male and 12,543 are female. 

Earlier, the Dy. CEO, Shri Kamlesh Kumar welcomed the gathering on the occasion.