Puducherry Assembly elections: CEC Gyanesh Kumar cites 82% turnout and 20 initiatives

Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar met political parties and election officials in Puducherry ahead of Assembly elections, praising the Union Territory for peaceful polling and strong voter turnout. He cited 82 per cent participation in the last Assembly election and said parties and staff committed to making Puducherry a national model, including 20 new initiatives such as colour candidate photos.

Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar said Puducherry was known for calm polls and strong voter turnout. Kumar spoke after meetings with political party leaders and Elections Department officials. The discussions were held for the upcoming Puducherry Assembly polls. Kumar said staff and party leaders promised that Puducherry would set an example for India.

Kumar said the Commission introduced 20 new initiatives for voters. Kumar highlighted one change linked to easier voting. Candidate photographs on ballot papers will appear only in colour. Kumar repeated that Puducherry earned national pride for peaceful polls. Kumar also recalled that turnout stayed high in past elections.

Puducherry elections: Special Intensive Revision and voter roll figures

Political parties in the meeting agreed that the Special Intensive Revision, or SIR, worked well. Kumar said the aim was a clean voter list for democracy. Kumar said, "No eligible voter should be excluded and no ineligible voter should be included.\" Kumar said election teams worked hard at every level to meet this goal.

Kumar credited booth level officers for the SIR outcome. Kumar also named Electoral Registration Officers and Assistant Electoral Registration Officers. District Election Officers were also praised for the work. Kumar added that the Puducherry Chief Electoral Officer led the full effort. Kumar said this work formed the base for reliable elections.

The voter count after the SIR in Puducherry reached 9,44,211. Women voters were about five lakh in the revised list. Male voters were listed at 4.43 lakh. Kumar said these figures came at the end of the revision exercise. Kumar linked the revision to voter confidence in the process.

Puducherry elections: Turnout record and enforcement focus

Kumar said Puducherry recorded 82 per cent voting in the last Assembly election. Kumar said elections were conducted under the Constitution. Kumar said officers were told to apply the rule of law firmly. Kumar added that enforcement must be without fear or favour. Kumar said inducements like cash, freebies, or other forms should be stopped.

Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi attended the discussions. Puducherry CEO P Jawahar and District Election Officer A Kulothungan were also present. Kumar and the team later met the Puducherry Chief Secretary. Kumar also held talks with the Director General of Police. The meetings focused on readiness for the Assembly polls.

With inputs from PTI