Lucknow, August 24 (TNA) Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar on Monday said students are the future of the “largest democracy in the world” while addressing participants at the Election Commission of India’s second regional conference on Electoral Literacy Clubs (ELC 2.0) and ECINET in Lucknow. The conference was organised to strengthen electoral literacy and democratic awareness among young citizens through educational institutions.
According to the Election Commission’s programme in Uttar Pradesh, the regional conference brought together students, teachers, principals and heads of institutions from across the state, with a focus on voter education, electoral registration and the functioning of the polling process. The initiative is being rolled out through ELC 2.0, which is designed as a structured, digitally enabled platform across schools, colleges and universities.
CEC Gyanesh Kumar said elections in India are conducted strictly in accordance with the Constitution, law and the instructions issued by the Election Commission, and underlined that the process remains transparent under the concurrent audit of political parties, candidates and their representatives at every stage. He stressed the need for students and young electors to understand India’s electoral system, democratic values, registration procedures, polling and counting processes, and the role of the Election Commission.
The CEC also said that informed participation and trust among young citizens is an investment in the future of democracy. The conference carries the tagline “Learn Democracy. Lead Democracy.” and aims to encourage first-time voters not only to understand democracy but to participate in it meaningfully.
Earlier in the day, Gyanesh Kumar visited his alma mater, Colvin Taluqdar’s College, and interacted with teachers and students there. On the second day of his visit, he is scheduled to interact with Booth Level Officers (BLOs) in Uttar Pradesh.
The Election Commission of India organised the second regional conference on “Electoral Literacy Clubs (ELC 2.0) and ECINET” in Lucknow on Monday, aimed at strengthening electoral literacy and democratic awareness among young citizens through educational institutions. Addressing students and teachers, Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar said students are the future of the world’s largest democracy and stressed the importance of familiarising young electors with India’s electoral processes, democratic values and the functioning of the Election Commission.
He noted that elections in India are conducted strictly as per the Constitution, law and ECI instructions, with transparency ensured through concurrent audit by political parties and their representatives at all stages.
He noted that elections in India are conducted strictly as per the Constitution, law and ECI instructions, with transparency ensured through concurrent audit by political parties and their representatives at all stages.
The ELC 2.0 initiative, with the tagline “Learn Democracy. Lead Democracy.”, seeks to create structured, visible and digitally enabled platforms across schools, colleges and universities to promote year-round electoral awareness. The initiative will also leverage the ECINET digital platform and a dedicated ELC portal to support electoral education from registration to polling and counting.