Hyderabad: Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu, India's Vice President, today urged the Election Commission and citizens to ensure a voter turnout of 75 percent in the next general elections to make electoral democracy more inclusive, and he also sought agreement on simultaneous polls to keep the country's development momentum going.
Shri Naidu said today, on the occasion of the 12th National Voters Day, that no voter should be forgotten and urged everyone to judge election candidates on their merits. Shri Naidu's address was read out at the occasion in New Delhi because he is in home isolation in Hyderabad after testing corona positive.
Shri Naidu praised all stakeholders for increasing voter turnout from 44.87 percent in the first general elections to the Lok Sabha in 1951-52 to the highest ever 67.40 percent in the 17th Lok Sabha in 2019, representing a 50 percent increase in voting. Shri Naidu praised the Election Commission of India as a credible, responsive, and forward-looking institution that every votary of democracy can legitimately be proud of, referring to the Commission's sustained efforts in this regard, striving for excellence over the country's 70-year electoral journey.
The issue facing the Election Commission, according to Shri Naidu, is to ensure a consistent increase in voting in every election in order to make our electoral democracy more inclusive by removing barriers to voter participation.
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