Hundreds of people today assembled at Byrnihat, the northern entry point of Meghalaya in Ri-Bhoi, to listen to an important message from U Sangot.
U Sangot, the traditional Khasi information broadcaster has this year been adopted as a part of the Election Commission of India’s voter awareness programme in Meghalaya.
Dressed in traditional Khasi costume, U Sangot played a proactive role in spreading voter awareness among the people who had assembled for the weekly market in Byrnihat.
J Syngkli, the headman, introduced U Sangot and his team to the people, who had assembled at the weekly market from different villages along the northern periphery of Ri-Bhoi.
Syngkli spoke about the importance of the Lok Sabha election and said each voter should ensure that they exercise their franchise and should pick the best candidate as their leader in the parliament.
“We can only guarantee that India will continue as a strong democracy only if we vote in larger numbers,” the Rangbah Shnong said, adding that voting is the constitutional right of every Indian citizen and each one should exercise the right.
U Sangot said it is a matter of pride that the electorate in Meghalaya will be the first in India to exercise their franchise as the voting is scheduled to be held on April 19, the first phase of Lok Sabha 2024 election.
As part of a ‘clean and green’ initiative, the first two voters – one male and one female – will get the opportunity to plant saplings in the campus of the polling stations, with their names written on a board by the side of the tree.
The U Sangot initiative is part of SVEEP, the flagship programme of the Election Commission of India for voter education, spreading voter awareness and promoting voter literacy in India.
