To spread and motivate the voters, particularly those residing in urban areas to come out and vote in large numbers, cycle rallies were organised across the state, flagged off by all the District Electoral Officers/Deputy Commissioners in their respective districts barring Hamirpur and Kinnaur. These cycle rallies were organised in collaboration with the Cycling Association of Himachal Pradesh.
District Electoral Officer/Deputy Commissioner, Shimla, Anupam Kashyap flagged off the riders from the historic Ridge. Chief Electoral Officer, Himachal Pradesh, Maneesh Garg who was the Chief Guest on the occasion also cycled along with other officers including SP Shimla. Garg congratulated Mohit Sood, president of the Cycling Association of Himachal Pradesh for conducting the event throughout in unison with the State Election Department. He also congratulated all the participants taking part in this ‘Maha Utsav of Democracy’.
He said that these rallies were being organised in 10 districts of the state, barring Hamirpur and Kinnaur to spread the message of right to franchise amongst the voters, particularly the first time voters and the youth. He informed that around 2000 participants were taking part in these cycling rallies across the state in which people from all age groups were taking part, which is rather commendable.
As the Lok Sabha elections are scheduled to be held on 1 June 2024, it is a moral duty of every citizen to ensure their participation in this Maha Utsav of Democracy, stated Garg. He said that Himachal Pradesh has always witnessed an increase in voter turnout and the people of the state particularly in rural areas show a lot of enthusiasm and zeal. In the last assembly elections, the state recorded a 76 per cent voter turnout and this time again, the target was to surpass all the earlier stats.
Manish Garg also awarded prizes to the winners of various competitions, including slogan writing and to the youngest and oldest riders. He also flagged off ‘The Democracy Van’, which will spread awareness amongst the people to come out and vote voluntarily.
The riders will cover a distance of 15 to 20 kilometres in every district spreading the message and motivating the urban voters to come out to vote as the apathy of the urban voter during elections has been an issue of much intrigue due to low percentage results.
Mohit Sood, the President of Cycling Association of Himachal Pradesh said that the riders will paddle around 15 kilometres, starting from Ridge Maidan, passing through Vidhan Sabha, Indian Institute of Advanced Studies, and returning to Ridge Maidan via IGMC, Sanjauli, Navbahar, and Raj Bhavan. During the program, students of APG University presented a play based on the importance of voting.
Other dignitaries present on the occasion were Superintendent of Police, Sanjeev Kumar Gandhi, Additional Chief Electoral Officer, Dalip Negi, and Additional Deputy Commissioner, Shimla, Abhishek Verma.
