Lucknow: To streamline voter hearings and expand electoral participation, the chief electoral officer (CEO) of Uttar Pradesh, Navdeep Rinwa, has directed officials to set up help desks at all voter hearing venues and launched a focused campaign to register eligible youth and women in the electoral rolls. Help desks, staffed with trained personnel, will assist voters attending hearings related to the special summary revision of electoral rolls. These desks will address queries, guide individuals through the process, and display toll-free helpline numbers for additional support. Basic amenities, including seating, drinking water, and clean restrooms, will be ensured at every site, with clear signage for easy visibility. The move comes after over 3 crore voters, 1.04 crore lacking prior details and 2.22 crore with logical discrepancies, were issued notices and called for hearings.
Simultaneously, the CEO has launched a statewide drive to improve voter registration among youth aged 18–20 and women, particularly newly married and adolescent girls. In a virtual meeting with officials from the education, health, and women welfare departments, Rinwa stressed the need to run special campaigns in schools, colleges, and universities, encouraging students to register through Form 6 via online and offline channels. Voter literacy clubs will play a key role in spreading awareness. Noting a decline in the female voter ratio—from 877 per 1,000 male voters on Oct 27, 2025, to 824 on Jan 6, 2026—Rinwa instructed officials to target unregistered women, especially those who missed enumeration after marriage. Support from ASHA workers, ANMs, Anganwadi staff, and self-help group (SHG) members will be leveraged to ensure inclusive registration. A 15-day intensive registration campaign has been ordered, with wide promotion across print, electronic, and social media to ensure all eligible citizens are added to the electoral rolls.
