New Delhi: Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar has reaffirmed that elections in India are conducted strictly in accordance with the Constitution, electoral laws and the Election Commission’s guidelines, as the poll body launched Electoral Literacy Clubs 2.0 to strengthen democratic participation among young voters.
Speaking at the launch of the initiative at Gyan Bhawan in Patna, Kumar said educational institutions have a vital role in creating an informed electorate by promoting electoral literacy, democratic values and trust in the election process. He stressed that meaningful participation by students and first time voters is an investment in the future of Indian democracy.
The initiative comes ahead of a busy Assembly election cycle in 2027, when states including Goa, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Uttarakhand and Manipur will go to the polls, followed later by Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh. The Election Commission is intensifying voter awareness and registration efforts with a special focus on young electors.
Originally introduced in 2018 under the Systematic Voters’ Education and Electoral Participation programme, the Electoral Literacy Club initiative has now been upgraded into a digitally enabled, year round platform. Schools, colleges and universities will conduct regular activities to educate students about voter registration, electoral rolls, polling, counting and the functioning of the Election Commission.
Officials said the programme aims to establish clubs across nearly 15 lakh schools, 70,000 colleges and over 1,400 universities within the next six months. The clubs will also introduce students to ECINet, the Commission’s digital platform for election related services and information.
During the event, the Election Commission unveiled a new logo for Electoral Literacy Clubs and adopted the tagline “Learn Democracy. Lead Democracy.” The broader objective is to encourage young citizens to become ambassadors of electoral awareness, spreading accurate information within their families, educational institutions and communities while strengthening trust, transparency and integrity in India’s democratic process.
