Chief Electoral Officer flags off cycling expedition, which will cover 414 km in seven days
A cycling expedition aimed at creating awareness among the voters given upcoming Lok Sabha Elections-2024 (LSE) and Assembly bye-elections was flagged off by Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Maneesh Garg from the historic Ridge today. Starting from Shimla the expedition will culminate at the world’s highest polling station located at Tashigang (15256 feet) on 20th May 2024.
CEO said that this seven-day cycling expedition from Shimla to Tashigang will create awareness among voters, especially among first-time voters. He said that six people are participating in the cycling rally, out of which State election icon Jaspreet Paul and his team member Kshitij will go from Shimla to Tashigang while the other four cyclists will be part of this expedition till Narkanda. This expedition will go to Tashigang via, Theog, Narkanda, Rampur, Rekong Peo, Nako, Kaza, Kaumik, and Hikkim.
It is pertinent to mention that the expedition will pay tribute to the First Voter of India Late Shyam Saran Negi on 16th May at Kalpa.
The CEO said that the main objective of this event was to ensure the participation of maximum people in this election. Given the LSE and AC bye-elections in the state, the participation of all the eligible voters was very important. He said that the main objective of this expedition was to make people aware of the importance of voting.
414-kilometer-long cycling expedition resonates with Misson 414
Sh. Garg said that the distance between Shimla to Kaza is 414 kilometers which also coincides with the Election Department’s Mission 414 Systematic Voters’ Education and Electoral Participation (SVEEP) initiative. This Mission is aimed at increasing the voting percentage at 414 polling stations, where the voting percentage was low in LSE-2019.
He said that this time nearly three percent of total voters in the electoral rolls would exercise their franchise for the first time and this expedition would go a long way in engaging and sensitizing the youth about their right to vote.
The CEO said that the Election Department was organizing various types of events from time to time to make people aware of voting. In this series, a plan has been prepared to organize cycling rallies in nine districts on 25 and 26 May 2024. Participation of maximum youth will be ensured in these rallies so that the voting percentage can be increased.
On this occasion, Additional Chief Electoral Officer Dalip Negi, Returning Officer and District Electoral Officer Anupam Kashyap, Superintendent of Police Sanjeev Kumar Gandhi, Additional District Electoral Officer Abhishek Verma, OSD SVEEP Neeraj Sharma and other officers were present.
