As part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s birthday celebrations, Minister of State for Home Affairs Bandi Sanjay Kumar presented a ‘Democracy Gift’ to BJP workers. The gift recognizes polling booth committees that managed to record over 80% voter turnout in the recent parliamentary elections. He also provided cash incentives to these committees.
In the world’s largest democracy, India, voter turnout has been declining over the years. Although the Election Commission has taken several steps to increase voter participation, the expected results have not been achieved. In cities like Hyderabad and Secunderabad, voter turnout barely crosses 50-60%.
Acknowledging this issue, Bandi Sanjay had made an appeal during the MP elections, saying, “Vote for any party you like. It doesn’t matter. But make sure you vote.” At the same time, he offered a bumper incentive to BJP workers.
He promised, “For any polling booth in my parliamentary constituency where over 80% voter turnout is recorded, I will honor the booth committee members with a cash incentive of ₹10,000 each and a grand recognition.”
After the elections, data was collected on booths where over 80% voter turnout was recorded. Not just one or two—there were 222 polling booths that recorded this level of turnout. Even booths where BJP received fewer votes were included in this list.
On the occasion of Modi’s birthday, BJP has been organizing various service programs under the banner of ‘Seva Pakhwada’ for two weeks. On Wednesday evening, a grand felicitation ceremony was held at EN Garden in Karimnagar, where all polling booth committee members were honored and given cash rewards.
No political party in the country has ever focused so much on increasing voter turnout. Many parties have campaigned with the sole aim of ensuring their candidate wins.
However, Bandi Sanjay not only urged people to vote for any party but also emphasized safeguarding democracy by voting. He introduced a new tradition by honoring polling booth committees that achieved the highest voter turnout.
He also called for similar efforts in future local elections to ensure maximum voting and make the Karimnagar Parliament constituency one of the top performers in the country. Earlier, Bandi Sanjay inaugurated a blood donation camp organized by the BJP’s Karimnagar district unit as part of Modi’s birthday celebrations, where several BJP workers voluntarily donated blood.