Bhopal: Yaggoj Sahu, who exercised his electoral franchise at Char Imli booth in Madhya Pradesh’s Bhopal recently, received a diamond ring for voting. He was the first winner of Bhopal administration’s lottery scheme launched to attract voters to the electoral booths for the ongoing Lok Sabha polls.
Sahu was followed by Premvati Kushwaha, Ayan Khan and Chhaya Saini, who won diamond rings at Anand Vihar School, Hamidia College and Chandbad Nagar Nigam Office polling booths, respectively, on Tuesday.
The Bhopal administration is offering several other gifts to woo voters. These include caps, T-shirts, mixers and water coolers.
A bumper draw will be held on May 9.
Madhya Pradesh saw a decline in voting percentage during the second phase on April 26, compared to phase 1 (April 19). Hence the administration of Bhopal, which voted in the third phase on May 7, launched the scheme to ensure an increased voter turnout.
“On polling day, we had three lucky draws at each polling booth: 10 am, 3 pm, and 6 pm. One winner was chosen per draw to receive a prize. A day or two after the election, we’ll hold a mega draw where big prizes will be distributed to the winners,” district election officer and collector Kaushlendra Vikram Singh told Times of India.
The gifts are being sponsored by a private firm to support the government in creating voter awareness.