Sapna Kotwal
The Jammu and Kashmir Election Department has embarked on an ambitious and far-reaching Systematic Voters’ Education and Electoral Participation (SVEEP) campaign in preparation for the forthcoming Assembly Election 2024. This initiative is aimed at fostering a robust and informed democratic process by encouraging greater voter participation across the Union Territory.
While the SVEEP campaign has been meticulously designed to address the unique demographic, geographic, and cultural diversity of Jammu and Kashmir, a notable feature of it is the specific emphasis on promoting ‘Green Election’, as it aims to achieve a unprecedented milestone of planting over one lakh plants across various Polling Stations in the Union Territory, fostering a sense of environmental stewardship among the electorate.
Ever since the announcement of Jammu and Kashmir Assembly Elections, a series of strategically planned activities have been executed across all twenty districts of the union territory, engaging the electorate through a blend of traditional outreach methods, modern technology, and culturally resonant interventions.
The SVEEP campaign in Jammu and Kashmir has employed a variety of innovative approaches to engage the electorate through an array of awareness events including painting, slogan writing and debate competitions, Kite Flying Competitions and Voter Awareness Lectures. These are further aided by Awareness campaigns which feature Blood Donation Camps, Wall of Democracy Signature Campaign, Youth Parliaments and Cleanliness Drives.
Recognizing the rich cultural heritage of Jammu and Kashmir, the SVEEP campaign integrated Indigenous Sports Competitions into its voter awareness efforts such as Volleyball and Penack Silat competitions, Paragliding Event and Zip-line activities, Horse Riding events.
One of the most ambitious SVEEP activities was the event at Kailash Kund, Doda’s highest peak, standing at over 14,000 feet.
Mashaal Rallies, Umbrella Rallies, a series of motorized and non-motorized rallies including Tanga Rallies, and Shikara Rallies also targeted different demographic groups, from the youth to the elderly, besides formation of Human Chains, Walkathons and E-Rickshaw Rallies.
To further bolster voter participation, the SVEEP campaign has enlisted the support of State Icons and other prominent personalities. These individuals, who are respected and admired by the public, used their influence to encourage voters to participate in the upcoming election.
The SVEEP campaign also features signing of Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) signed by the Election Department with Jammu University and Doordarshan Jammu for extensive outreach campaign to make the electors aware of the importance of voting.
In the digital age, the SVEEP campaign leveraged the traditional and modern mediums of media to promote voter participation. Ever since the announcement of assembly election, the newspapers and social media platforms across Jammu and Kashmir have been flooded with news coverage and informative creatives at district as well as UT level.
The Assembly Elections are getting bumper coverage on state-sponsored Doordarshan and Akashvani, even as local digital media outlets are also flooded with news and content regarding elections, with focus on enhancing voters’ participation.
On DD News Jammu alone, around 120 SVEEP activities have been covered in the last 14 days throughout different districts of Jammu Province, in addition to 96 YouTube videos, 112 Twitter posts and 43 Instagram posts related to SVEEP activities.
Special programs are being telecast on local Television and digital media platforms, while special articles are being published in all major newspapers of the Union Territory.
In addition, the officials of the Election Department led by the Chief Electoral Officer Pandurang K Pole have been interacting with the electorate through special TV and Radio interviews, along with interviews with local newspapers and digital media platforms.
Young students from Jammu University and IIMC Jammu have been roped in to further the SVEEP campaign through internships, even as these young people have been contributing through articles, videos and reels on social media platforms including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube, encouraging their peers to participate in the festival of democracy. The use of real, relatable voices in these appeals added authenticity to the campaign, making it more effective in reaching out to the youth.
Music has always been a powerful medium for communication, capable of transcending language barriers and resonating deeply with people. Recognizing this, the SVEEP campaign made extensive use of Musical Interventions to spread the message of voter participation. Special songs and jingles were composed for the campaign into local languages, including Hindi, Dogri, Pahari, and Kashmiri, making it accessible to a wider audience, even as the SVEEP campaign collaborated with local radio stations to produce and broadcast jingles that promoted voter participation.
Smart Screens were installed in prominent locations across the Union Territory, including airports, railway stations, bus stands, and shopping malls. These screens displayed messages urging voters to participate in the upcoming election, along with information about the voting process and key dates. The screens were strategically placed to capture the attention of people in high-traffic areas, ensuring that the messages reached a large and diverse audience.
In addition to these static displays, the campaign made extensive use of Jingles and Announcements that were played at airports, railway stations, bus stands, as well as on SRTC buses, garbage collection vans, awareness vans and other public transport vehicles. These messages, which were broadcast throughout the day, reached a wide cross-section of society, including people who might not have access to other forms of media. The use of public transport vehicles as a medium for voter awareness was particularly effective in rural and remote areas, where other forms of communication might be limited.
In the run-up to the much-awaited Jammu and Kashmir Assembly Election 2024, the Election Department has also embarked on a significant mission to promote ‘Green Election’, with a target of planting over one lakh plants across various Polling Stations in the Union Territory.
‘Green Election’ is an initiative of Election Commission of India (ECI) that aims to reduce the environmental impact of electoral processes across the country. This concerted effort towards environmental sustainability and community engagement is made possible through collaborative efforts with locals, youth and volunteers, along with polling officials.
The larger concept of encouraging ‘Green Election’ is to introduce the electoral practices that aspire to reduce the environmental impact of elections. The initiative of ‘Green Election’ involves measures such as using recycled materials, promoting electronic voting, and encouraging candidates to adopt sustainable campaign practices.
In the recently held Lok Sabha Elections, while following the precedence of ECI towards promoting ‘Green Election’, the Office of Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), J&K UT, achieved a major milestone of planting 60,198 plants across various Polling Stations in the Union Territory.
In the forthcoming Assembly Elections, the J&K Election Department has geared up not only to surpass all the previous records of polling percentage, but also to break the records in its efforts towards promoting ‘Green Election’.
The Office of CEO, J&K UT, has set a target of planting more than 1 lakh plants during the forthcoming J&K Assembly Polls, even as the necessary directions have been given to all the District Electoral Officers and the officers of J&K Forest Department and others to follow the compliance.
To promote the theme of ‘Green Election’ in J&K and to help the Forest Department in environment protection, the Office of CEO, J&K UT, has outlined the target of planting over 100 plants in the premises of 90 Green Polling Stations, i.e. one in each of the 90 Assembly Constituencies across the UT. Similarly, the remaining 11738 polling stations will see plantation of around 10-15 plants in each of them across the J&K UT.
Recognizing the growing concern for the environment, the SVEEP campaign integrated Plantation Drives into its activities, linking environmental stewardship with electoral participation. This initiative aims to create a lasting impact by not only promoting voter registration but also contributing to the beautification and greening of the region.
The plantation drives are being coordinated by 90 Nodal Officers across the 90 Assembly Constituencies. These officers are working closely with local authorities, schools, and community organizations to organize mass tree-planting events. The chosen sites for these plantations included polling stations, parks, schools, and community centers, ensuring that the planted trees would be visible to a large number of people and serve as a reminder of the upcoming election.
The goal of planting more than 1 lakh saplings during the election period is not just a symbolic gesture but also a practical contribution to the region’s ecological health.
All these activities are in addition to major SVEEP activities undertaken by District Election Officers (DEOs) in all twenty districts of Jammu and Kashmir, even as the Chief Electoral Officer has been leading the SVEEP activities throughout the different districts of the Union Territory.
In addition, as many as 90 Nodal officers for SVEEP have been deputed for all 90 Assembly Constituencies of Jammu and Kashmir, who have been leading at least 1-2 major SVEEP activity in their respective Assembly Constituency.
On an average, 150 SVEEP activities are taking place in Jammu and Kashmir every day.
The Systematic Voters’ Education and Electoral Participation (SVEEP) campaign for the Assembly Election 2024 in Jammu and Kashmir represents a comprehensive and multifaceted approach to fostering electoral awareness and participation. Through a combination of traditional outreach methods, innovative activities, and the use of modern technology, the campaign has successfully engaged a diverse electorate, ensuring that every eligible citizen is informed and motivated to vote.
(The author is Nodal Officer for Media, Looking after SVEEP activities at the Office of CEO, J&K UT)
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