Gujarat polls: Marathon in Vadodara to boost voter turnout

Vadodara: In a bid to boost voter turnout in the upcoming Gujarat Assembly elections, the district administration will be organising a marathon run next month even as the Election Commission is implementing various measures to this effect. The marathon titled ‘City Runs For Healthy Democracy’ will be held in first week of December to create awareness among voters about the importance to exercise their franchise in the two-phase polls to be held on 13 December and 17 December, district collector Vinod Rao has said. [caption id=“attachment_537801” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Representative image. Reuters[/caption] Election Commission of India (ECI) has initiated an awareness campaign by introducing Systematic Voter’s Education and Electoral Participation (SVEEP) in the forthcoming polls. Meanwhile, a life-term convict Manoj Patel has appealed to masses to exercise their vote. According to sources at Vadodara Jail, Patel told a government team that visited the penitentiary under ‘Gandhi Katha’ programme that since he can not vote he wants people to come out and exercise their right. PTI