ABVP leader calls for 100 pc voting
Source: The Sangai Express
Imphal, April 02 2019:
Saying that enrolling oneself in the voter list does not serve any purpose if one does not exercise the right to vote, Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) general secretary Ashish Chauhan has called upon all the youth to exercise their right to vote so as to strengthen democracy and speed up the country's pace of development.
The ABVP general secretary came to Imphal a few days back with a message to all the youngsters to cast their vote in the ensuing Lok Sabha elections without fail.
Under his initiative, ABVP launched a poster campaign on 'Nation first, voting must' at Imphal yesterday.
Earlier in the day, he interacted with students of DM College, Central Agricultural University and Manipur University.
He also went to Kangpokpi and held a similar interaction session with college students there the previous day.
Speaking to The Sangai Express about the ABVP's poster campaign, Ashish Chauhan said that he is particularly interested in ensuring that all the youngsters who have been enrolled in the voter list for the first time exercise their right to vote.
In the last Lok Sabha election, around 32 crore people abstained from exercising their right to vote, he said.
He then appealed to all the people to cast their votes without fail and choose a candidate rather than NOTA.
Even if the number of votes polled in favour of NOTA exceeds the total number of candidates garnered by a candidate, there would be no change to the election results.
As such, it is more meaningful to cast votes in favour of a candidate rather than NOTA, he asserted.
Each and every citizen should cast vote in favour of their chosen candidates without any influence from anybody.
Youth should come out with open mind and participate in the electoral process without any sense of fear or shame.
This will take the country forward, Ashish Chauhan said.
To a query, Ashish said that ABVP is students' organised registered on July 9, 1949 .
There may be some similarity between the ideology of ABVP and some other political parties but ABVP is an independent students' organisation, he claimed.
ABVP was established 20/30 years before BJP was set up and it is not affiliated to any political party, he continued.
ABVP started its activities in Manipur as early as 1966 .
When Nagaland Governor PB Acharya was serving as a key functionary of ABVP, he a set up a committee in Manipur.
ABVP Manipur unit president Saratchandra Haobijam contested the Manipur University Students' Union (MUSU) election as a presidential candidate in 2015, Ashish said.
He informed that ABVP would field its candidates in future student union elections held in the State.
There are six general secretaries of ABVP and one of them is Narendra Sapam, a native of Manipur.
He went on to claim that ABVP is in control of students' unions of the country's 60 to 70 per cent Central Universities.
He added that ABVP has been working together with the country's youth in several fields under the vision to make India a developed and progressive Nation.