Innovative ways to bring electorate to vote in India

February 21, 2012: Indian state of Uttar Pradesh is witnessing good turnout in the ongoing assembly elections, thanks to innovative ways to get the electorate to vote.
One of them is to lure students with extra credit if they get their parents to go out and exercise their franchise.
Rakesh Chattree Principal of Christ Church College said: " Our only aim in giving extra marks is to increase the voter turnout."
The college has also kept a parent-teacher meeting on the evening of the polling day. "Parents will show us the ink mark and we will record their child's name," said Chattree.
The college will award 10 marks to students in the total.

"Many educated persons do not vote. We hope that this idea might encourage them. We need to increase the voter turnout which has been quite low in the state," said Aminabad Inter College Principal JP Mishra.
The College will award two extra marks to the students in the final examinations whose parents take part in the voting exercise.
Terming it as a social responsibility, principal of St Teresa School, Geetika Kapoor said: ‘The school is encouraging students to be socially active.”
In 2007 assembly election, the poll percentage was 46% in Uttar Pradesh.
But Uttar Pradesh has sprung a surprise this year, with around 60 percent voter turnout in the initial phases of the election, which is staggered over four weeks.