THE JHARKHAND STORY NETWORK
Daltonganj, April 24: Police officers walk down the street for twin purposes. One is to connect with the masses. The other is to undertake CBM. CBM is a confidence building measure.
Bishrampur SDPO Rakesh Singh, took a detour to some of the areas where vulnerable booths with a history of violation of model code of conduct etc are there.
The vulnerable booths are at Mallah Tola and at Itko. Here during the last election FIRs were lodged.
The walk down of the IPS officer along with the team has had its own impact. It at once raises the level of connect with the public.
Speaking to The Jharkhand Story late last night Rakesh Singh said, “I spoke to a cross section of voters. I told them that their participation in voting is of tremendous importance. They must not miss it. They heard me well.”
Singh further said, “It always pays for the police to hear what the public say.”
This young IPS officer was told that all poll awareness campaigns have been a male affair only where poll awareness campaigners either speak to the voters outside their houses or on the road sides or at the corner but had the team of the poll awareness campaigners woman members with it then these woman members could have gone straight into the courtyard of the houses calling in chachi, bua, bhabhi, dadee nani depending upon the age of women there in the household and then these woman members could have explained in shortest possible time about the purpose of their coming straight to the aagan that is vote on the polling day!
There is no awareness campaign as such among the woman voters. It’s only the male voters who are approached.
Palamu district has little over 8.20 lakh of woman voters, only 60,000 or so behind the male voters in terms of count.
Also Read- Jharkhand Election: JMM beating around the bush to get suitable candidate for Jamshedpur LS seat
Bishrampur assembly constituency has over 1.68 lakh women voters. There has never been any sincere approach to convince and motivate these women voters to vote.
Incidentally Chhaterpur and Hussainabad assembly constituencies have almost similar numbers of women voters say little over 1.52 lakhs of woman voters each.
Daltonganj assembly constituency has the highest number of female voters. It is 1.91 lakh plus. Panki assembly constituency has 1.55 lakh of women voters.
Rakesh Singh agrees that it’s time to seek women voters’ assurances that they will vote themselves and send their family male members to do the same.
The assistant returning officer cum sub divisional magistrate Sadar Anurag Kumar Tiwary is also of the opinion that poll awareness campaigners should also include woman like Sahiyas, Sewikas, Jal Sahiyas, etc who know women of their locality by name and can easily convince these women to vote.
A woman voter plays a major role in voting as she takes along with her other women of the locality. Women voters walk in groups. The poll awareness campaigns must target women voters so far left uncontacted by the poll awareness campaigners.
Anurag Kumar Tiwary is ably supported by the Sadar Circle Officer Amardeep Walhotra.
Tiwary said, “There are 426 polling stations in Daltonganj assembly constituency. Out of 426 polling stations 222 polling stations are where polling percentage is below the national average.”
“The polling stations in Daltonganj assembly constituency where voting has been a low key affair in the past have to be regenerated to witness higher voting in this year’s Lok Sabha election.” reminded the assistant returning officer Tiwary.
“I walk down in the Sun. My team walks down. It is all for the maximum turnout of the voters this May 13 voting for the Palamu lok sabha seat.” added Tiwary.
