PM Modi urged BJP members to assist increase voter turnout to 75%

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has asked his party workers to ensure that voter turnout in their respective localities reaches 75 percent in honour of the country's 75th anniversary of independence.

Modi instructed the BJP's "panna pramukhs" (page in-charge) in Gujarat to check that each of them is connected to every voter on their list and their families, and to get the names of people who have worked and sacrificed for the party since the Jana Sangh days on the Kamal Pushp via the NaMo app.

The BJP's Kamal Pushp initiative is part of the Azadi Ka Amrut Mahotsav Parv, which gathers stories from BJP and Jana Sangh karyakartas. The Prime Minister also requested them to encourage every voter to engage in the party's micro-donation programme, which aims to strengthen the organisation and combat malnutrition at the booth level.

Modi reminded the party workers that January 25 is National Voters' Day in his opening comments. He noted that India's Election Commission, which was founded in 1951 to promote free and fair elections, has become a model for other democratic countries, noting that voter turnout has increased from 45 percent in the first election to barely 67 percent in the most recent (in 2019).

"All of you, in fact every party should think why the voter turnout is so low. Why the urban people who are active on social media do not come out and vote. It should be changed," he said. "Can we take a pledge that our panna pramukhs will see that in this 75th year of Independence, there is 75% voter turnout in their booth."

He was, however, pleased that when voting takes place in their communities, young people regard the "inked finger" as a "cool statement or fashion statement."

The Prime Minister also urged that the debates on One Nation, One Election and One Nation, One Voter List be continued. "The discourse should continue,then only some outcome would be there. We all know how frequent elections affect works." Since becoming power in 2014, Modi has emphasised the idea of a single election.

He also wanted feedback on the party's development efforts, organisational activities, immunisation programme, and outreach efforts.

Modi wanted them to ensure that the "contributions and sacrifice" of every person who has worked for the BJP since the days of the Jana Sangh and those who had fought against the Emergency, is acknowledged on the Kamal Pushp so that "the coming generation can get inspired by them." He urged that every panna pramukh should make sure that persons whose names appear on their pages donate to the BJP's micro donation campaign, even if it's only Rs 5, Rs 10, or Rs 15.

On December 25, the NaMo app launched a micro contribution campaign in honour of A B Vajpayee's birth anniversary, which will run till February 11, Deen Dayal Upadhyay's death anniversary.

The Prime Minister, noting that childhood malnutrition is a problem that the party and the country must address, enlisted the help of his party's members in the fight. "It's important that everyone participates in this fight. If children are healthy, our society will be healthy. The panna pramukhs should see that there are health fairs in each booth," Modi added.