Odisha CEO shortlists celebrities for poll awareness prog

Sambad English Bureau Published On : Mar 12, 2019 at 11:18 AM Updated On : Mar 13, 2019 at 8:47 AM

Bhubaneswar: Odisha Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Surendra Kumar has shortlisted names of six celebrities of the state under the Systematic Voters’ Education and Electoral Participation (SVEEP) for spreading awareness among voters for the upcoming Assembly and Lok Sabha elections.

The shortlisted personalities to be appointed as ‘State Icons’ are sprinter Dutee Chand, para athlete Jayanti Behera, para shuttler Pramod Bhagat, singer Rituraj Mohanty and cine artistes Sivani Sangita and Swaraj.

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Kumar has sent the list to the Election Commission of India for approval. The ‘State Icons’ will be involved in awareness programmes to encourage young and new voters to exercise their franchise in the elections.

The Election Commission has also formed SVEEP committees at district levels as well as at 2,908 schools and 665 colleges across the state. It has also set up 21,365 ‘Chunav Pathshalas’ to educate people about functioning of VVPATs and EVMs.